EU AGENCY GREENLIGHTS MODERNA COVID-19 VACCINE

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended the conditional market authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by US firm Moderna, as frustration grows over the pace of vaccination campaigns in EU countries, Ella Joyner reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Once officially approved by the European Commission, considered a formality, the shot is to be the second vaccine for the respiratory disease in the European Union's arsenal, along with Pfizer-BioNTech's drug.

"Good news for our efforts to bring more #COVID19 vaccines to Europeans," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted. "Now we are working at full speed to approve it and make it available in the EU," she added.

The EU's executive branch has ordered 160 million doses on behalf of the bloc's 27 member states.

A quick positive decision could help take the heat off some EU leaders, whose citizens are looking enviously to the United States, Britain and Israel where millions of jabs have already been administered.

All three countries have authorized the Moderna shot, among others.

Only the Pfizer-BioNTech jab is allowed in the EU at present, and production and delivery bottlenecks have contributed to a sluggish first week following the start of the inoculation drive on December 27.

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