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A Second Vaccine Approval

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Moderna's mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, CNN reports.

The company's vaccine, dubbed Spikevax, was issued an emergency use authorization in December 2020 and the company said in June 2021 that it would be seeking full approval for the vaccine.

As CNN reports, Spikevax is now approved for adults 18 years old and older in the US. A booster dose and a third full dose remain available under an EUA, the company notes.

"Safe and effective vaccines are our best defense against the COVID-19 pandemic, including currently circulating variants. The public can be assured that this vaccine was approved in keeping with the FDA's rigorous scientific standards," Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, says in a statement.

Moderna's vaccine is the second to receive full FDA approval. The FDA approved Pfizer and BioNTech's SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in August 2021.

The Scan

Hormone-Based Gene Therapy to Sterilize Domestic Cat

A new paper in Nature Communication suggests that gene therapy could be a safer alternative to spaying domestic cats.

Active Lifestyle Linked to Type 2 Diabetes Prevention in People at High Genetic Risk

A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that an active lifestyle goes a long way in type 2 diabetes prevention.

Beneficial, Harmful Effects of Introgression Between Wild and Domesticated European Grapes

A paper in PNAS shows that European wild grapevines were an important resource for improving the flavor of cultivated wine grapes.

Genetic Ancestry of South America's Indigenous Mapuche Traced

Researchers in Current Biology analyzed genome-wide data from more than five dozen Mapuche individuals to better understand their genetic history.