EU countries could begin rolling out Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine as soon as next week after authorities approved the region's second shot on Wednesday, with more infectious variants of the virus adding extra urgency to inoculation efforts.<br /><br />Vaccinating the European Union's 450 million people could be crucial to ending a pandemic that has killed almost 1.9 million people globally. Countries are scrambling to contain two variants found in South Africa and Britain that are more transmissible and have driven a surge in infections.<br /><br />"With the Moderna vaccine, the second one now authorised in the EU, we will have a further 160 million doses. And more vaccines will come," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
