Another milestone: US administers first Moderna COVID-19 vaccines

Hartford, United States

In another historic moment, the US administered first Moderna Inc's coronavirus vaccine to a nurse at a hospital in Connecticut on Monday.

Mandy Delgado works as a nurse for the Hartford Healthcare hospital. She was administered a shot of the Moderna vaccine around 11:40 am (1640 GMT), according to a live feed of the event.

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"I am excited. I feel privileged," she said after getting the shot of the vaccine against the novel coronavirus. Her enthusiasm and courage were met with a round of applause by the people around her.

The shot has been administered a few days after the Moderna vaccine became the second in the US to receive emergency use authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with the first one being Pfizer-Biotech's vaccine.

The Moderna vaccine can be stored at -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit), much lower than Pfizer's vaccine which must be stored at -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit), making it easier to distribute.

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Local authorities are hoping these vaccines will be able to contain the widespread of the novel coronavirus, which has affected the US in the worst way.

"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.