Modern Inc.
MRNA 2.68%
said Tuesday it will offer its new Covid-19 vaccine to its own employees, contractors and board members in a move that the company said would provide an additional layer of protection to workers involved in vaccine manufacturing and delivery .
The Cambridge, Massachusetts company, which has about 1,200 employees, said the small amounts of vaccine needed for the program are separate from the millions of doses that Moderna has committed to the U.S. government.
Modern has said it expects to provide about 20 million doses for use in the United States by the end of this month and a total of about 200 million by mid-2021. The federal government has purchased the doses and oversees their distribution.
Vaccinations with Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine began earlier this month. WSJ’s Betsy McKay reports on how the injections are distributed. Photo: Paul Sancya / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images
The company’s new policy would seem to allow the vaccination of some people who are not part of the high-priority groups identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has said that the first people to receive the initial limited supply of available doses of vaccine are health care workers and long-term caregivers, followed later by people 75 and older and certain essential workers. such as police officers and manufacturing workers.
The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Moderna spokesman said the policy would help ensure “ongoing operations and vaccine production in the face of a pandemic.” He said that because of the size of Moderna, “we have critical staff in all parts of our organization that respond to the pandemic.”
Pfizer Inc.,
which had about 88,000 employees worldwide as of February, takes a different approach to the vaccine it produces with partner BioNTech SE.
It plans to vaccinate employees as they become eligible under CDC guidelines, and the first group is expected to be the company’s essential worker, including those in manufacturing positions, a company spokeswoman said. The company “has no plans to prioritize the vaccination of our executives or board members over other high-risk groups,” the spokeswoman said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the Modern vaccine in adults this month after an extensive study that was shown to be highly effective against Covid-19 disease. So far millions of doses have been distributed in U.S. locations Last week federal health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, received the first dose of the Modern vaccine.
The company said it would also vaccinate adult members of its workers’ homes to reduce the risk of absenteeism and disruption due to a Covid-19 infection from a family member. . The company makes voluntary and confidential vaccinations and covers the costs.
Modern said it notified the appropriate health authorities about the program and that it will monitor and report vaccination information as required under FDA authorization.
Moderna officials have previously said they have taken steps to mitigate the risk of the virus for workers, including those that require personal protective equipment for people who have to work at its facilities and for some workers to work from house.
—Jared S. Hopkins contributed to this article.
Write to Peter Loftus to [email protected]
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