Male, Jun 8 (IANS): The Maldives Food and Drug Administration (MFDA) has given emergency approval to the Covid-19 vaccines by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson as the island nation continues to battle the third wave of the pandemic.

In a statement, the MFDA said that both vaccines could be used for individuals above the age of 18, reports Xinhua news agency.

Maintaining cold chain storage was a crucial condition of approval and doses must be stored in temperatures between -25 degrees Celsius and -15 degrees Celsius, the MFDA said.

The MFDA has previously granted emergency approval to several other vaccines including Covishield, Pfizer, Sinopharm, and Sputnik V.

Covishield, Sinopharm and Pfizer have been administered under the country's free vaccination program which began on February 1.

According to data from the Health Protection Agency, a total of 311,740 individuals have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 172,263 have received two doses.