Modern Inc.
MRNA 2.68%
said Tuesday that it will offer its new Covid-19 vaccine to its own employees, contractors and board members in an action the company said would provide an additional layer of protection to workers involved in the production and distribution of the vaccine.
Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has about 1,200 employees, said the small amounts of vaccine needed for the program are separated from the millions of doses that Moderna has assigned to the United States government.
Moderna said it expects to provide around 20 million doses for use in the United States by the end of this month, and a total of about 200 million doses by mid-2021. The federal government has purchased the doses and is overseeing their distribution.
Immunizations with Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine began earlier this month. WSJ’s Betsy McKay reports how the injections are being delivered. Photo: Paul Sancya / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images
The company’s new policy appears to allow vaccination for some people who are not in the high-priority groups identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC said that the first people who should receive the initial limited supply of available vaccine doses are healthcare professionals and residents of long-term care facilities, followed by people aged 75 and over and some essential workers, such as police and manufacturing workers .
A spokeswoman for Moderna said the policy would help ensure “continued operations and vaccine production in the face of a pandemic.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of Moderna’s vaccine in adults this month, after a large study showed it was highly effective against Covid-19 disease. Millions of doses have so far been distributed to locations around the United States. Last week, federal health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
The company said that, under its new policy, it would also vaccinate adult members of its workers’ families to reduce the risk of absenteeism and disruption due to a Covid-19 infection in a family member. The company is making vaccines voluntary and confidential and is covering costs.
Moderna said it has notified the appropriate health authorities about the program and will monitor and report information about vaccinations as required by FDA authorization.
Moderna officials said earlier that they had taken steps to mitigate the risk of the virus to workers, including the requirement for personal protective equipment for people who must work on their premises and some employees working from home.
Write to Peter Loftus at [email protected]
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