plural EUAs
: emergency use authorization
Though not fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration, all three vaccines have been given emergency use authorization (EUA) by the agency for distribution because of their ability to save lives during the pandemic. Isabella Murray
The FDA requires at least two months of data from at least half of the clinical trial participants before granting an EUA. The shots proved to be safe and effective at preventing severe illness and death from the coronavirus. Katie Camero
But now that N95 masks are more widely available, the FDA has revoked those EUAs [for KN95 masks] … Devon Kelley

Examples of EUA in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Read in English Post Buy Copies Em 2021, o CEO médio de uma das 350 maiores empresas dos EUA foi pago$27,8 milhões—uma taxa que disparou em surpreendentes 1.460% desde 1978. Riki Takeuchi, Harvard Business Review, 6 Mar. 2025 For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the HHS secretary declared that the circumstances justified the FDA to issue an EUA for the COVID-19 vaccines, allowing them to be quickly brought to the market. Angela Mattie, The Conversation, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2004, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of EUA was in 2004

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Cite this Entry

“EUA.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/EUA. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.

Medical Definition

: emergency use authorization
An EUA allows use of unapproved medical products (or unapproved uses of approved medical products) to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions caused by threat agents, such as Covid-19, in response to a declared public health emergency for which there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives. Philip R. Krause and Marion F. Gruber, The New England Journal of Medicine
The FDA's first EUAs for civilians were in 2009, during the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic, authorizing two previously approved medications—Tamiflu and Relenza—and a new drug … Diana M. Zuckerman, American Journal of Public Health
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