HOULTON, Maine — Once the vaccine developed by the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company Moderna is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, it will only be a matter of days before it will arrive in Houlton.
Shawn Anderson, CEO of Houlton Regional Hospital, confirmed Monday that HRH was notified it will be receiving the Moderna vaccine, which is reported to be 95 percent effective in combating COVID-19.
“To be clear, the Moderna vaccine has not received Emergency Use Authorization yet,” said Anderson. “It is widely expected that the Moderna vaccine will be approved by the very end of this week.”
Once the vaccine is approved, Anderson said the hospital could receive it within 48 hours of its initial distribution.
The Moderna vaccine uses what’s known as messenger RNA, or mRNA, to help cells create a harmless coronavirus protein which then helps build an immune response to the actual virus. The vaccine created by pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which is already FDA-approved and distributing its vaccine in the US, also uses the mRNA method.
Unlike Pfizer’s vaccine however, Moderna’s vaccine does not have to be stored at as low of a temperature, giving it a longer shelf life. This perhaps makes it more ideal for sending to rural and remote areas which may require longer transportation of the vaccine.
