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The US Food and Drug Administration authorized the first Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, making it available for emergency use for patients 16 years of age and older.
In clinical trials, the vaccine was 95% effective in preventing disease and showed no short-term safety concerns.
The following is a summary of the vaccine distribution plans:
What happens next
The federal government plans to release the nation’s first 2.9 million doses within days of authorization in 64 states, US territories, and major cities, as well as five federal agencies. Although the federal government is coordinating distribution efforts, the states have the final decision on who receives the first injections. The federal government is sending the first shipments to more than 600 locations.
Who is first in line for an injection?
States are prioritizing health care workers and elderly long-term care residents for the first vaccinations. There are about 21 million healthcare workers in the United States and 3 million nursing home residents. Most states anticipate that they will only be able to vaccinate between 13% and 18% of their healthcare workers with the first distribution, a Reuters analysis found. The federal government has said it will continue to ship millions of doses each week, but has not released exact figures.
Who is next in line?
States have wide discretion over who will get the vaccine next. So far, a panel advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has only issued guidance that healthcare workers and nursing home residents should come first.
The CDC has established a possible three-phase distribution framework, suggesting essential workers and people 65 and older as the next priority.
Some states have indicated that they plan to prioritize essential workers after healthcare workers and nursing home residents receive the vaccine.
At least 20 large industries are pushing states to classify their workers as essential, according to a Reuters analysis, including Uber Technologies Inc, DoorDash Inc and others.
Will there be enough vaccines for everyone?
Pfizer has said it will produce 50 million doses this year, enough to inoculate 25 million people, of which about half would go to the United States. Pfizer has an agreement with the US government to supply a total of 100 million doses, enough for 50 million people to be vaccinated. The United States has the option to purchase an additional 500 million doses.
A panel of FDA expert advisers will review a second Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc next week. If that vaccine is licensed, federal officials have said they will be able to vaccinate 20 million Americans in December, 30 million in January and 50 million in February.
Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca Plc also have vaccines in late-stage trials. If those vaccines are cleared early next year, officials said there would be enough doses to vaccinate about 75 million Americans per month around March or April.
Officials said that by the middle of next year, the United States will have distributed enough vaccines for most Americans who want to get vaccinated.
What happens once I get the vaccine?
The vaccine is given in two injections, three weeks apart. Pfizer has said that the side effects in the trial volunteers were mostly mild to moderate and disappeared quickly. The most serious side effects occurred after the second dose, including flu-like symptoms, fatigue, and headaches.
Although the vaccine has been shown to be very effective in preventing disease, there is still no data to suggest that it also prevents infection or the ability to transmit the virus to other people. The use of masks and social distancing are likely to continue until more people are vaccinated or evidence emerges that the vaccine also prevents transmission of the virus.
