Moderna has now become the second company to submit its coronavirus vaccine to the FDA for emergency authorization, after Pfizer.
An FDA board is scheduled to meet in December to evaluate the vaccines and if approved, distribution could start within days.
Both companies have said their vaccines are highly effective, but many Americans have expressed some hesitation in getting a vaccine that has been developed with unprecedented speed.
"So far, as we've seen in the early results that have come out, the side effects are really quite minimal," said Dr. Ali Nouri, molecular biologist and President of the Federation of American Scientists.
According to early data, the side effects are within the normal range of what can be expected with most vaccines, including headaches, nausea and a sore spot on the arm where the vaccine was administered.
Because the vaccine does provoke an immune response in the body, patients may feel somewhat under the weather.
"But that seems to be the extent of it," said Dr. Nouri. "For the most part what's been reported is just like any other vaccine… all early data point to very encouraging signs."
Many scientists have said the news that both Pfizer and Moderna have developed vaccines that appear to be around 95% effective is far better than had been expected.
