Moderna says shipped 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to United States

A nurse draws a Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, in Los Angeles

(Reuters) - Moderna Inc said on Monday it has shipped 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the United States, of which 88 million have been delivered to date in the first quarter of 2021.

The company expects to meet its promise of delivering the second batch of 100 million doses by the end of May and the third batch by the end of July, by delivering 40-50 million doses per month.

The U.S. government has this week hit the accelerator on its shipments of COVID-19 vaccines after a month of largely stagnant weekly deliveries, giving states the doses they need to finish vaccinating priority groups and open shots to all adults.

Moderna, which delivered 16 million doses in the fourth quarter of 2020, said its COVID-19 vaccine shipments has increased five-fold since its shot was granted an emergency authorization in December.

(Reporting by Vishwadha Chander in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)