The Moderna vaccine has received complete FDA clearance

The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine has received complete clearance.

Moderna's vaccine, now known as Spikevax, was previously approved for emergency use and is the second coronavirus vaccine to get full FDA clearance. The medicine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was authorized in August.

“While hundreds of millions of doses of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine have been administered to individuals under emergency use authorization, we understand that for some individuals, FDA approval of this vaccine may instill additional confidence in making the decision to get vaccinated,” acting FDA Commissioner said in a special statement.

Concerns about the vaccine's negative effects prompted federal officials to keep studying Moderna's application for use in teenagers. Moderna is also researching the vaccine's application in youngsters.

The entire approval is based on data from approximately 30,000 people who participated in clinical trials that demonstrated the vaccination was safe and effective against COVID-19.

This vaccine, which has been given to tens of millions of individuals in the United States, also includes a year's worth of real-world data. Combined with other COVID-19 vaccines, it has saved millions of lives in the final year of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Food and Drug Administration said on Monday that it had performed a "rigorous examination" of the adverse effects and found that there was an elevated risk within a week of a second dosage, especially in men aged 18 to 24.

According to the FDA, available short-term follow-up data indicated that most people's symptoms had resolved. A benefit-risk study undertaken by regulators revealed that the vaccine's advantages still surpassed the hazards for all individuals.

Nearly 75 million people have received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine, and another 38.5 million have received a booster injection.

Initially, the makers of COVID-19 vaccines requested emergency use authorizations since the authorization procedure takes less time than the whole approval process.

Emergency use authorization refers to a medical product, such as a vaccination, that has received special FDA approval to be used in an emergency. According to the FDA, after the health emergency is finished, "any EUA(s) granted based on that declaration will no longer be in force."