FDA finds second COVID vaccine 'highly effective,' with final approval as early as week's end

A Food and Drug Administration review Tuesday of a second coronavirus vaccine found the drug "highly effective," following the approval of the first vaccine, which Americans are now receiving.

The recommendation for the vaccine by Moderna could result in full agency approval for emergency use by the end of the week, according to the Associated Press.

The FDA review panel found the drug 94% effective in clinical trails and that it had no serious safety concerns.

Pharmaceutical companies, working with the Trump administration, have created an effective vaccine with remarkable speed, roughly nine months after the pandemic started. 

The FDA on Friday approved a vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech for people 16 and older, and Americans started getting the shots Monday.

The vaccines arrive amid a second wave of the virus in which the daily death count in the U.S. continues to exceed 2,400, based on data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and reported by the wire service.