NEW YORK: The first Americans could receive a Covid-19 vaccine as early as December 11, the top scientific adviser to the U.S. government’s vaccine program said on Sunday.
“Within 24 hours of approval, the vaccine will be moved and located in the areas where each state will have told us where they want the doses of the vaccine,” said Dr. Moncef Slaoui, part of the vaccine program “Operation Warp Speed ”, to NBC. “Meet the press.”
External advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration will meet on December 10 to discuss whether to authorize the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech for emergency use.
The vaccine, which requires two doses given approximately three weeks apart, has been shown to be 95% effective without major safety concerns. Pfizer hopes to have enough doses to protect 25 million people before the end of the year.
The vaccine will be distributed based on the population of each state, Slaoui said. Each state will decide who gets the vaccine first with the recommendation that priority be given to healthcare workers, frontline workers and the elderly who face the highest risks of dying from the virus.
About 70% of the population needs to be immunized to achieve herd immunity, a goal the country could reach in May, he said.
The United States faces the challenge of distributing vaccines to more than 330 million Americans while also combating misinformation about vaccines spread on social media.
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said it was crucial to have a continuous flow of information between President Donald Trump’s coronavirus experts and President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team to avoid delays in distribution after have Biden take office on January 20.
Slaoui told ABC “This Week” that he had not spoken to anyone on Biden’s team. Biden warned last week that “more people will die if we don’t coordinate.”
The number of coronavirus cases in the US has surpassed 12 million and increased by more than 1 million cases in less than a week for the first time.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended against traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, but many Americans ignore that warning.
Social media posts showed crowded airports across the country. Hospitals are struggling under a record number of Covid-19 patients and doctors fear that number will rise after family reunions this week.
The testing shortage still affects many parts of the country 10 months after the first case of coronavirus was detected in the United States. Most of the pharmacies offering Covid-19 testing in the Chicago suburbs were fully booked before Thanksgiving and the lines at state testing facilities that do not require appointments were busy with cars lining up for more than one hour at a site in Aurora, Illinois. Long lines of pedestrians also formed outside clinics in some New York City districts.
Deaths have surpassed 255,000 and many health experts warn that deaths will rise to more than 2,000 per day in the coming weeks.
“We are clearly involved in a very, very difficult surge right now here across the United States and even globally,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, told NBC.
“Within 24 hours of approval, the vaccine will be moved and located in the areas where each state will have told us where they want the doses of the vaccine,” said Dr. Moncef Slaoui, part of the vaccine program “Operation Warp Speed ”, to NBC. “Meet the press.”
External advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration will meet on December 10 to discuss whether to authorize the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech for emergency use.
The vaccine, which requires two doses given approximately three weeks apart, has been shown to be 95% effective without major safety concerns. Pfizer hopes to have enough doses to protect 25 million people before the end of the year.
The vaccine will be distributed based on the population of each state, Slaoui said. Each state will decide who gets the vaccine first with the recommendation that priority be given to healthcare workers, frontline workers and the elderly who face the highest risks of dying from the virus.
About 70% of the population needs to be immunized to achieve herd immunity, a goal the country could reach in May, he said.
The United States faces the challenge of distributing vaccines to more than 330 million Americans while also combating misinformation about vaccines spread on social media.
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said it was crucial to have a continuous flow of information between President Donald Trump’s coronavirus experts and President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team to avoid delays in distribution after have Biden take office on January 20.
Slaoui told ABC “This Week” that he had not spoken to anyone on Biden’s team. Biden warned last week that “more people will die if we don’t coordinate.”
The number of coronavirus cases in the US has surpassed 12 million and increased by more than 1 million cases in less than a week for the first time.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended against traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, but many Americans ignore that warning.
Social media posts showed crowded airports across the country. Hospitals are struggling under a record number of Covid-19 patients and doctors fear that number will rise after family reunions this week.
The testing shortage still affects many parts of the country 10 months after the first case of coronavirus was detected in the United States. Most of the pharmacies offering Covid-19 testing in the Chicago suburbs were fully booked before Thanksgiving and the lines at state testing facilities that do not require appointments were busy with cars lining up for more than one hour at a site in Aurora, Illinois. Long lines of pedestrians also formed outside clinics in some New York City districts.
Deaths have surpassed 255,000 and many health experts warn that deaths will rise to more than 2,000 per day in the coming weeks.
“We are clearly involved in a very, very difficult surge right now here across the United States and even globally,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, told NBC.
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