emergency use authorization

noun

variants or less commonly Emergency Use Authorization

plural emergency use authorizations also Emergency Use Authorizations

: an authorization granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during a public health emergency that allows for the use of a drug or other medical product prior to its full approval

Under section 564 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), when the Secretary of HHS declares that an emergency use authorization is appropriate, FDA may authorize unapproved medical products or unapproved uses of approved medical products to be used in an emergency …

—fda.gov

Especially during a shortage, much of the red tape needs to be cut away, much as formal review processes for new vaccines and drugs gave way to Emergency Use Authorizations during the pandemic.

—Marc Siegel

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday granted emergency use authorization for the Pfizer booster for this age group …

—Aidin Vaziri

called also EUA

Examples of emergency use authorization in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have received approval for adults for their COVID-19 vaccines, in 2021 and 2022, respectively, after first receiving emergency use authorization in 2020. —Alice Park, TIME, 23 Sep. 2024

For vaccines provided under emergency use authorization, however, such as vaccines against H1N1 in 2009 and now Covid-19, safety science and compensation programs have been chronically underfunded. —Gregory A. Poland, STAT, 14 Aug. 2024

In 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved emergency use authorization for the antiviral drug Remdesivir to treat severe cases of COVID-19. —Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 1 May 2024

Early in the pandemic, the FDA gave Cue Health the industry’s first emergency use authorization, a fast-track approval, for its sleek, 15-minute molecular COVID-19 test. —Natallie Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2003, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

emergency use authorization

noun

variants also Emergency Use Authorization

: an authorization granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during a public health emergency that allows for the use of a drug or medical product prior to its full approval

During the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization of IV neuraminidase inhibitors for hospitalized patients with influenza, creating a need for rapid decision analyses to help guide use.

—Bruce Y. Lee et al., The American Journal of Managed Care

Based on these initial findings, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the emergency use of remdesivir for the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

—Richard T. Eastman et al., American Chemical Society Central Science

called also EUA