Moderna COVID-19 vaccine could hit Wisconsin before year's end

A second coronavirus vaccine is now one step closer to hitting the U.S. 

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel on Thursday, Dec. 17 recommended emergency use for Moderna's vaccine.

Wisconsin could start using the vaccine as soon as Dec. 28. Of course, it still needs final approval from the FDA.

In Thursday's vote, though, the panel said the benefits outweigh the risks. The meeting mirrored the same type of meeting that took place one week earlier concerning the Pfizer vaccine

There is still a strong push to continue clinical trials after emergency use is granted to monitor trends and those who received the placebo.

The same group of advisors to the FDA voted to recommend approval of the Pfizer vaccine 17-4. The FDA said Moderna's is 94% effective with a "favorable safety profile." Fatigue, headache and muscle pain at the injection site were the most common side effects.

Administrators at Luther Manor in Wauwatosa are already planning who will get the vaccine first out of its nearly 800 residents and staff. The Moderna vaccine will be used primarily in long-term care facilities, like Luther Manor, within Wisconsin. The state is expected to receive 100,000 doses next week.

It is widely expected that the FDA will issue emergency use of Moderna's vaccine on Friday, following a similar pattern to that of the Pfizer vaccine.

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