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Authorization Time

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

318 days from the February 4, 2020 determination to an authorization effective December 18, 2020, seven days after Pfizer-BioNTech on the same clock.

Also known as mRNA-1273, Spikevax EUA
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Authorization time

318days

Days from the HHS Secretary's section 564 determination, effective February 4, 2020, to this product's first emergency-use authorization. 2020 was a leap year. The sources print the dates. This row stores the subtraction.

OfficialFederal Register (opens source in a new tab)

Mechanism

Why it's so fast

Moderna's interval uses the same February 4, 2020 start and an effective date seven days after Pfizer-BioNTech, which is why the count is 318 days.

  1. Same legal start

    The authorization notice repeats the Secretary's February 4, 2020 determination. The clock is that federal calendar, not a claim about which scientific team worked harder.

  2. December 18, 2020

    The Federal Register says the ModernaTX authorization is effective as of December 18, 2020. MMWR states that FDA issued the authorization that day, and FDA's archived table lists 12/18/2020.

  3. The subtraction

    December 18 is day 353 of a leap year. February 4 is day 35. The difference is 318 days. The page stores that count and shows the dates it came from.

The shorter row is the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 318daysRanked figure

    Days from the HHS Secretary's section 564 determination, effective February 4, 2020, to this product's first emergency-use authorization. 2020 was a leap year. The sources print the dates. This row stores the subtraction.

    February 4 is day 35 of 2020. December 18 is day 353. 353 minus 35 is 318 days. Seven days longer than the Pfizer-BioNTech row on the same start date.

    Official
    Federal Register (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Clock start
4 February 2020
Authorization effective
18 December 2020
Interval
318 days

Context

Background

Moderna's authorization uses the same February 4, 2020 start. The Federal Register says it is effective as of December 18, 2020. Day 353 minus day 35 is 318 days.

CDC's MMWR states that FDA issued the Moderna emergency-use authorization on December 18, 2020. FDA's archived table lists that vaccine as issued on 12/18/2020. The interval is the federal calendar. It is not a statement about how a dose should be used.

Spot a wrong number?

Every report is read by a person, and corrections are dated on the page.