Moderna Makes COVID-19 Vaccine Available To Board, Staff, And Contractors On Priority

Moderna Inc MRNA announced a worker vaccination plan as an extra layer of COVID-19 protection for its employees in the United States on Tuesday.

What Happened: The biotech company said that its coronavirus vaccine will be made available to its workers, contractors, and board members under the FDA emergency use authorization. Moderna will also extend this benefit to all adult members in an employee’s household.

All associated costs for this program — from making the doses to distributing and administering the vaccine — will be borne by the Cambridge, Massachusetts-headquartered company.

Why Does It Matter: Moderna has agreed to supply about 20 million doses by the end of this year and 200 million doses sometime in mid-2021 to the U.S.

The company clarified that the minor quantity of the vaccine, under the worker vaccination plan, will be separate from the doses earmarked for the federal government. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company has around 1,200 employees.

Unlike Moderna, market peer Pfizer Inc PFE is adopting an alternate approach. It will vaccinate its employees once they comply with the CDC eligibility guidelines, WSJ reported. A Pfizer spokesperson told the Journal that there are “no plans to prioritize the vaccination of our executives or board members ahead of other high-risk groups.”

Price Action: MRNA stock gained 2.68% to close Tuesday at $114.39.

Related News: Moderna Agrees To Supply South Korea With COVID-19 Vaccine For 20M People: Yonhap