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Another vaccine for the novel coronavirus is one step closer to be given the green light. This is after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday voted to recommend the authorization of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.

FDA vaccine advisers, who comprise the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, voted 20-0 with one abstention in favor of the vaccine.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would need to give its thumbs-up for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine before vaccine shots can be rolled out. A CDC advisory panel is reportedly meeting this weekend to discuss its next steps.

The FDA, meanwhile, is poised to authorize emergency use of the Moderna vaccine as the country continues to grapple with a surge in COVID-19 cases. Moderna vaccines could start to be administered as early as next week.

"To go from having a sequence of a virus in January to having two vaccines available in December is a remarkable achievement," said Dr. James Hildreth, president, and CEO of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, a member of the panel.