CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - Cambridge-based Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine is being shipped around the country with doses expected to be administered to patients as early as Monday.
On Sunday, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention accepted the recommendation of a CDC advisory committee that Moderna’s vaccine should be given to people ages 18 and older in the U.S.
Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific officer for Operation Warp Speed, said the first public doses of the vaccine will “most likely” be administered Monday morning.
“There are now two vaccines that are approved,” he exclaimed. “They are incredibly effective and efficacious.”
Workers at a distribution center in Mississippi packed the vaccine Sunday, with nearly six million doses now being shipped.
The news comes as the CDC recommends that essential workers and adults ages 75 and older get vaccinated in the next phase of distribution.
In Massachusetts, Gov. Charles Baker said, “First responders will be the next priority group to be vaccinated after COVID-facing healthcare workers and long-term care facilities. The state has already put in an order for 120,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine.”
The CDC has also issued new guidelines for the vaccine, suggesting that anyone who has ever had a severe allergic reaction to an ingredient in a COVID-19 vaccine should not get that vaccine and should consult a doctor.
A reaction is considered severe if it requires the person to be treated with epinephrine, or they need to be hospitalized. Such reactions can include shortness of breath, a closing of the throat, nausea and dizziness.
Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was shipped out to Americans last week.
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