Moderna Inc’s vaccine against coronavirus has received on Friday the emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, making it the second vaccine to be registered.

The FDA made the announcement following a panel that was held for the agency with outside experts who endorsed the vaccine, and a week after the FDA’s authorization for Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE.

The vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech, which share the similar technology, have been on a massive nationwide rollout and been handed out to thousands of U.S. healthcare workers. Moderna is expected to follow the lead of those vaccines.

“With the availability of two vaccines now for the prevention of COVID-19, the FDA has taken another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic that is causing vast numbers of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States each day,” FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D, said in a statement.

“It is my hope that all Americans will protect themselves by getting vaccinated when the vaccine becomes available to them. That is how our country will begin to heal and move forward,” top U.S. infectious disease scientist Anthony Fauci said in a statement.

We hope that with vaccines underway that this nightmare can finally come to an end and that 2021 will bring us the new start we desperately need.

After receiving the first batch of Chinese Sinopharm’s coronavirus vaccine, Health Minister Hala Zayed said that Egypt will be receiving the vaccine batches in succession and will provide it for free!

The free distribution of the vaccine is based on the directives of the president. The vaccine, according to both Egypt and UAE, is 85% effective and has gone through clinical trials in Egypt these past months, Minister Zayed was one of the volunteers who participated in the clinical trials.

Minister Hala Zayed along with Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang and acting Emirati Ambassador to Egypt Mariam Al-Kaabi, have supervised the arrival of the first batch at the Cairo International Airport. The batch came from the UAE and the minister’s remarks came afterwards.

The Chinese vaccine has so far secured an emergency approval of the World Health Organization, the Minister also added that Egypt has signed deal with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization to secure the provision of further vaccine doses.

Priority in distribution goes to the medical staff first, those working in isolation hospitals, chest and fever hospitals. Then to patients with cancer or kidney failures, the elderly and people with chronic diseases.

The vaccine is injected in the upper arm and is divided into two shots, given 21 days apart.

Egypt has applied to obtain the Covid-19 vaccines from COVAX, Health Minister Hala Zayed announced during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

According to the minister, Egypt has submitted an application to receive the vaccine from COVAX, it’s a scheme led by the GAVI alliance that aims at securing fair global access to the vaccine.

Zayed also added that an “extended” meeting with GAVI will take place, this was according to a statement released by the cabinet after the meeting said, further details have been provided.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has delegated Zayed and Finance Minister Mohamed Maait to implement the needed measures and take necessary steps with GAVI to secure 20 million-dose batch of the COVID-19 vaccine.

This amount will cover up to 20% of the country’s needs, and of course priority goes to medical staff and the elderly, according to previous remarks by Zayed.

Tuesday’s meeting unveiled the measures that the Health ministry has taken to confront the second wave of the virus, it included upgrading the infrastructure of 44 fever and chest hospitals and supplying them with 100 oxygen tanks.

Hospitals’ capacity also saw an increase by 7500 beds, 1500 intensive care beds, 325 ventilators, and 17 CT-scan machines, the statement added.