Moderna CEO says vaccine won't be ready to be distributed widely until the spring

A view of Moderna headquarters on May 08, 2020 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Moderna was given FDA approval to continue to phase 2 of Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine trials with 600 participant
(Image credit: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Moderna won't be able to seek emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate earlier than late November, and the vaccine would likely not be available to the general public prior to March, its CEO says.

Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel told the Financial Times on Wednesday that the company wouldn't have enough data to seek emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its coronavirus vaccine candidate before Nov. 25 at the earliest. He also told the Financial Times that the company wouldn't be able to file for approval to get the vaccine to the entire population until late January at the earliest, meaning that "late [first quarter], early [second quarter]" of 2021 is a "reasonable timeline" for approval.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.