Impulsive Trump "FDA Approves Moderna Vaccine"

No Official Announcement from the FDA

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Donald Trump, President of the United States, announced that the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine developed by the American pharmaceutical company Moderna has been approved.

On the morning of the 18th (local time), President Trump tweeted, "The Moderna vaccine has been overwhelmingly approved. Distribution will begin immediately."

President Trump's remarks came a day after the FDA advisory committee, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), recommended the emergency use of the Moderna vaccine to the FDA, but there was no official announcement from the FDA.

Foreign media also reported that "FDA advisors met on the 17th to discuss the Moderna vaccine, and the FDA was expected to make a decision as early as that day," noting that President Trump's tweet was posted before the FDA's official announcement.

Some speculated that President Trump stated the approval based on VRBPAC's recommendation to the FDA for the emergency use of the Moderna vaccine.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Vice President Mike Pence publicly received the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech during a live TV broadcast.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.