By Alice Luo
A second vaccine for COVID-19 was approved in Canada on December 23rd. The Moderna COVID vaccine was approved in Canada after testing. It showed no significant health issues during the testing, where it was used on thousands of volunteers. Both the US and Canada have now approved the vaccine.
The Moderna vaccine, made by Moderna Inc., is quite similar to the vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNtech. Both were made using similar technology, and need to be stored in cold conditions. However, the Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at -70° Celsius (-94° Fahrenheit), whereas the Moderna vaccine can be stored at -20° Celsius (-4° Fahrenheit). This makes the Moderna vaccine easier to ship to the more remote, rural areas in Northern Canada.
This new vaccine has been tested on thousands of volunteers in Canada as well as the US, and both countries have considered it safe to use. An expert panel in Canada has said the vaccine is “highly effective”, and Health Canada says that the vaccine has no “important safety issues”. The US Food and Drug Administration matched these statements on December 17th.
The first in line for the new vaccine are Canadians in remote communities, who didn’t get the Pfizer vaccine. The Moderna vaccine is easier to ship, so these communities will get it first. Next up will be the elderly and health workers, who are more vulnerable to the disease. Unfortunately, the new vaccine has not been approved for people under the age of 18. This is because kids were not involved in the early testing stages, and there is not enough data to prove it safe.
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use in Canada and is safe for people over the age of 18. The two vaccines will help us rid of the pandemic in the upcoming year.
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