Moderna vaccine being distributed starting this weekend

Officials announced Saturday that distribution of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine will begin this weekend after it received emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Distribution of Moderna vaccine has already begun,” Gen. Gustave Perna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, the administration’s effort to advance vaccine development and distribution, said during a briefing.

“Boxes are being packed and loaded today. Trucks will begin rolling out tomorrow, from FedEx and UPS, delivering vaccines and kits to the American people across the United States,” he added.

Perna said that with both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines being distributed, the government has allocated 7.9 million doses of vaccine.

The FDA issued an emergency authorization for the Moderna vaccine on Friday, allowing a total of nearly 6 million doses of the vaccine to begin shipping across the nation. The authorization followed an agency advisory panel vote of 20-0 in favor of the approval.

The agency green-lit the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine earlier this month and has begun rolling out the vaccine. Several lawmakers including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) both received their first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Friday.

– Nathaniel Weixel contributed.