The U.K. became the first Western nation to grant emergency-use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine, clearing a shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech SE to be distributed in limited numbers within days.

Moderna announced Monday it has applied to FDA for emergency use authorization of its candidate COVID-19 vaccine. If approved, the company said, vaccinations could begin in the United States as soon as December 21. Moderna reported that complete data from a large study indicated the vaccine was 94.1% effective, confirming earlier estimates.

Roughly 750 participants tuned in for 2 days of virtual education, video chats, networking events, and more at the Joint Federal Pharmacy Seminar (JFPS) 2020 Virtual, held on November 13 and 14.

Despite expectations that CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) would make its COVID-19 vaccine allocation recommendations once one or more vaccines received FDA emergency use authorization (EUA)—the traditional timeline—the group will vote Tuesday, December 1, on a “Phase 1a” distribution strategy. ACIP convened the 2:00 pm ET December 1 emergency meeting to ensure its advice is available before FDA approves any EUAs; the agency is slated to consider the first application on December 10. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has said that Operation Warp Speed will begin shipping COVID-19 vaccines to states within 24 hours of their approval. 

Supermarket pharmacies are gearing up to become major providers of COVID-19 vaccinations. Grocery stores say they are well-positioned to provide the vaccines because a large share of the population lives near one of their stores, and their pharmacies regularly offer vaccinations for other illnesses.