Moderna CEO: COVID variant vaccine to be ready for shipping in August

LONDON - Moderna's COVID-19 variant vaccine will be ready to ship in August as the company has been making shots ahead of approval, Chief Executive Stephane Bancel told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that the only bottleneck to supply was a regulatory one.

"Our goal is as early as August given we're going to file all the data in June, by the end of June... hopefully in the August timeframe, the vaccine is authorised," Bancel said in an interview.

"We can start shipping in the August timeframe. Some countries might be September, but that will really be a regulatory decision. Because what is (the) bottleneck now is regulatory. From a manufacturing standpoint, we are making the vaccine."