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All Americans who want to get a Covid-19 vaccine should be able to do so by the second quarter of next year, said Alex Azar of Health and Human Services.
With the US Food and Drug Administration To decide Thursday on emergency authorization for an injection developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, Azar and Moncef Slaoui, the head of the government’s program to speed up a vaccine, expressed confidence that the FDA would clear the way.
“I haven’t heard of any red flags, but I’ll have to leave that to the FDA career scientists who were looking into all the data,” Azar said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“Based on the data I know of, I hope the FDA will make a positive decision,” Slaoui, who runs the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed program, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” show.
Plans to roll out coronavirus vaccines linked to more than 280,000 deaths in the U.S. are gaining urgency as cases hit new highs across the country, hampering hospital care and the economy, particularly at points urban critics.
Christmas holidays
When asked about news reports that the White House and the State Department are planning big year-end parties, Azar says the same health recommendations apply to them as in any other setting.
“Our advice remains the same in any context, which is to wash your hands, watch the distance, wear face covers when you can’t watch the distance and be careful with those indoor environments,” he said. “The best thing is the distance and, therefore, limiting the number of people in the meetings can also be important.”
Read more: US is on the verge of a key Covid decision
Slaoui said his group plans to have its first meeting with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team this week.
“And me sensation sure once we explain it, all in detail, hope new transition teams will understand that things are well planned, ”said Slaoui, former director of the vaccines division at GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
While those most at risk in line for early vaccination may see an impact in January and February, “for our lives to start to get back to normal, we’re talking April or May,” Slaoui said.
He defended the proposed immunization schedule for the first 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which requires two injections three to four weeks apart. If all doses were used until Giving 40 million people an initial injection would create the risk of failure for the required second injection, Slaoui said.
– With the help of Yueqi Yang
