the next steps in the usa

How quickly can Americans expect to receive the coronavirus vaccine? Here are the following steps in the approval and distribution process:

Short term: first authorizations

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccine Advisory Committee will meet Thursday after carefully studying data from clinical trials conducted by Pfizer / BioNTech.

The FDA should then give its approval for the emergency use of the vaccine. That decision could come “a few days after the advisory committee meets,” said Health Secretary Alex Azar.

On December 17, the same process will take place for the Moderna vaccine.

In each case, distribution will begin immediately after FDA approval.

US Army Gen. Gus Perna, in charge of logistics for the government’s Operation Warp Speed ​​to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, set a December 15 deadline for Pfizer.

“Within 24 hours of FDA clearance, we will ship to all states and territories we work with. And within hours they can be vaccinating,” Azar said.

December: 20 Mn vaccinated

The number of doses available would be limited at first.

The government says 40 million doses will be distributed by the end of the year, which means that 20 million people can be vaccinated, as each requires two doses three to four weeks apart.

Authorities say logistics is ready to distribute the first batch of approximately 6.4 million doses of Pfizer vaccine immediately.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that healthcare workers (21 million) and residents of long-term care facilities (three million) be first in line .

However, in the end, state governments decide who has priority for the vaccine, but most will adhere to the CDC guidelines.

Early 2021: 100 million vaccinated

After that, the details of the process are a bit fluid. Of course, Donald Trump will step down and President-elect Joe Biden will take office on January 20, although there will be a lot in place by then.

“By mid-March, we should have really covered most of the highly susceptible population, some 100 million people,” Moncef Slaoui, Warp Speed’s chief science advisor, said Sunday.

Initially, that target of 100 million had been set for the end of February.

Who exactly will these 100 million people be? The authorities have not yet finalized their priority groups. And not all experts agree on who should come next.

Deborah Birx, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, told AFP that the first 100 million should be those whose pre-existing conditions put them at high risk if infected.

But other experts advising the CDC suggested they would recommend that 87 million essential workers in fields like education, food service, law enforcement and transportation take priority after healthcare workers and household residents. of elderly.

Moderna said last week that it could deliver 85 to 100 million doses of vaccines to the United States in the first quarter of 2021.

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© 2020 AFP