A second coronavirus vaccine is nearing emergency approval in the US after it was endorsed by a panel of experts, BBC News reported.

The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Stephen Hahn, said his agency would move quickly to authorize the Moderna vaccine, allowing the company to begin shipping millions of doses.

It comes days after the US began its largest ever immunization campaign with the rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.

Hahn said his agency had informed Moderna that it would work "rapidly" towards issuing emergency use authorization.

Regulators reported earlier this week that the Moderna vaccine was safe and 94% effective.

The US has agreed to purchase 200 million doses, and six million could be ready to ship as soon as the vaccine gets FDA approval.

The Moderna vaccine requires temperatures of around -20C for shipping—similar to a normal freezer.

But the Pfizer jab requires temperatures closer to -75C, making transport logistics much more difficult.

To note, American Armenian businessman Noubar Afeyan is the co-founder and chairman of Moderna Inc.