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- The United States could begin administering the Covid-19 vaccines on Friday, according to James Hildreth, a vaccine adviser to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- If the FDA approves the emergency use authorization of Pfizer’s vaccine after an expert meeting Thursday, Americans could start getting the injection on Friday, Hildreth told NBC.
- “At the end of the day Thursday, a decision could be made about the vaccine,” he said. Hildreth is on the committee that will advise the FDA on its decision.
- Dr. Moncef Slaoui, head of the White House coronavirus vaccination effort, told CBS On Sunday that “the first shipment of the vaccine will be made the day after the vaccine is approved.”
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
Americans could begin receiving the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech starting Friday, an adviser to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Sunday.
An FDA advisory panel will meet Thursday to evaluate the vaccine, for which Pfizer applied for an emergency use authorization on November 20.
During the meeting, Pfizer will present the safety and efficacy data for its injection, which it says is 95% effective, and will answer questions from scientific experts.
The panel will then inform the FDA whether the vaccine should be approved in the US or not. Most likely, the FDA will follow the panel’s recommendations and the injection could be cleared within 24 hours.
James Hildreth is a member of the committee, called the Vaccines and Related Biologics Advisory Committee. He told NBC’s “Weekend Today” show Saturday that a vaccine decision could be made by late Thursday.
“If the FDA commissioner decides to issue the approval, the US, on the day the vote takes place, as early as Friday next week, we could see vaccines across the country.
Hildreth said that “technology, existing infrastructure, and really incredible science” have contributed to “the rapid speed of development of this vaccine.”
Dr. Moncef Slaoui, head of the White House coronavirus vaccination effort, said in a CBS News interview on Sunday that he hopes the FDA will approve the vaccine.
“The first shipment of the vaccine will take place the day after the vaccine is approved,” Slaoui said. “This is how we plan. If the vaccine is approved on the 10th or 11th, the moment it is approved, shipments will begin.”
He told CBS that the vaccine will help the most vulnerable people in January and February.
“But on a population basis, for our lives to start getting back to normal, we are talking about April or May,” he added.
The UK is set to release the Covid-19 shots on Tuesday, following approval on December 2.
The UK government said the first wave of two-shot vaccines will start on Tuesday and will be enough for about 400,000 people.
Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s leading infectious disease expert, told Fox News, CBS and Sky News on Thursday that UK regulators rushed to authorize the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, but He later apologized to the BBC for his comments.
Covid-19 has infected more than 14.8 million people in the US and has killed more than 282,000, according to the New York Times tracker Covid-19.
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