Moderna Inc’s coronavirus vaccine has become the second to receive emergency use authorisation (EUA) from the United States Food and Drug Administration, welcome news to a nation with a staggering Covid-19 death toll of over 307,000 lives lost.

Millions of doses of the Moderna vaccine are expected to be added to the US rollout, which began this week with healthcare workers. Older people in long-term care facilities are next in line for vaccines, with a US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention expert panel on Sunday set to recommend what groups follow, as industries compete to have their workers given precedence.

The FDA announced the authorisation the day after the agency’s panel of outside experts endorsed its use and a week after the FDA authorised a vaccine from Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech.

Moderna’s shot is expected to be used in harder-to-reach locations, such as rural hospitals. The vaccine needs to be stored and shipped frozen but does not require the ultra-cold temperatures of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot.