Trump jumps the gun, prematurely announces approval for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine

US President Donald Trump on Friday prematurely announced that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine has been approved "overwhelmingly" as regulators in the country are yet to formally authorise the drug. Trump, who has been trying very hard to claim credit for vaccine development in the country, took to Twitter this evening and announced that Moderna's COVID-19 cure has been approved for use, adding that distribution will start soon. 

Read: Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine 94.1% Effective, Could Receive Emergency Authorisation In US

Premature announcement

However, what's interesting is that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency which authorises medicine in the country, is yet to formally approve Moderna's drug. FDA has been reviewing data from the trials and is expected to grant emergency use authorisation to Moderna soon, but has not done yet. Donald Trump, in the face of all the facts present before the world, decided to jump the gun and announce that the drug has been approved. Moderna claims that its COVID-19 vaccine is over 90 percent effective. 

Read: Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Highly Protective, Could Receive Emergency Authorisation

Trump's announcement came as his deputy Mike Pence received the COVID-19 vaccination live on television, a step meant to persuade Americans into taking the vaccine. Pence took the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that recently received EUA from the FDA. A mass vaccination campaign has started in the country earlier this week, prioritising health care professionals and other high-risk groups. Pence after taking the vaccine said that Moderna's drug is expected to receive authorisation anytime soon, but did not claim like his boss that it has already been done. 

Read: US Orders Additional 100 Million Doses Of Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine For $1.65 Billion

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is one of the several in which the US government has invested money for the quick development of a cure. The American firm has agreed to supply 100 million doses to the US government after receiving approval from the regulators. Last week, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD) had secured an additional 100 million doses of COVID-19 mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate from Moderna. 

Read: Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine Gives Immunity For At Least 90 Days, Finds Study