Moderna's vaccine has been approved for use in the European Union (EU) as criticisms about the slow vaccine rollout grow.
The European Medicines Agency has officially authorized Moderna’s vaccine for use in the EU.
“EMA’s human medicines committee has thoroughly assessed the data on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine and recommended by consensus a formal conditional marketing authorization be granted by the European Commission,” the EMA said in a statement.
According to Emer Cooke, executive director of the Amsterdam-based EMA, Moderna’s vaccine “provides us with another tool to overcome the current emergency.” It allows the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to follow suit.
Moderna’s Covid vaccine is the second one to be approved by European regulators, but vaccinations in the U.K. and in the U.S. have already begun.
Some legislators have expressed concern that the EU is not fast enough in distributing Covid vaccines among its citizens.
The rollout of Covid-19 doses is different across the bloc. France posted 516 vaccinations in the first week of its distribution, while Germany had held about 240,000 vaccinations as of Sunday. The Netherlands has not yet begun inoculating people against the virus.
Moreover, there are also issues about the sufficiency of the vaccines purchased by the EU. Some officials asked the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, to enlighten the public why it has not bought more doses.
A European Commission spokesperson said on Monday that the institution was “very much focused on ensuring that the implementation of our strategy is done, is done well.”
Moderna vaccine
Based on the data released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December, the side effects of taking Moderna's vaccine include fatigue, headaches, and muscle pain as well as nausea, vomiting, and facial swelling.
The data suggests the doses were generally better tolerated by people over 64 than for younger people.
The side effects of vaccines are common as they constitute an immune response that affirms the shots are working as intended, according to doctors. Many of them are warning the public to expect stronger-than-usual side effects from the Covid-19 shots than a regular flu shot.
The vaccine is deemed more than 94% effective and safe enough to meet the agency’s bar for emergency use, the report says. More than 9 in 10 participants who took doses of the vaccine experienced pain at the injection site, almost 7 in 10 felt fatigued and about 6 out of 10 suffered headaches or muscle pain, the FDA said.
