A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted Thursday to endorse Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, clearing the way for FDA leaders to authorize emergency mass distribution amid an ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases across the country.

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The vote was 20-0. One committee member abstained.

The committee was charged with voting on the following question: "Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine outweigh its risk for use in individuals 18 years of age and older?"

The highly anticipated meeting included members of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research advisory committee, outside vaccine experts and Moderna representatives.

Although significant, the committee’s vote in favor of the EUA is not final. The vote will now go before FDA officials who will decide whether to grant emergency use authorization (EUA) based on the committee’s findings. Such approval would come about a week after the regulatory agency granted EUA to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for individuals aged 16 and older, which states have begun rolling out to health care workers this week.

Upon formal FDA approval, which would mark the first such approval for Moderna, Americans could see an initial 6 million doses distributed next week.

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