The United States has a $ 1.95 billion contract for 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine (Archive)
Washington:
If Pfizer Inc submits initial positive data from its COVID-19 vaccine trial to health regulators as quickly as expected, the US government plans to begin vaccinating Americans in December, the secretary said Tuesday. Health Alex Azar.
Pfizer said Monday that the vaccine it has been developing with German partner BioNTech SE was 90% effective against COVID-19, according to a preliminary analysis of the results of its large late-stage trial.
The US drugmaker said it expects to have safety data as soon as next week that it needs to apply for emergency use authorization (US) with the US Food and Drug Administration.
With FDA clearance, the United States would receive about 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine per month, Azar said in a call with reporters, noting that HHS could be procuring supplies by the end of this month.
The United States has a $ 1.95 billion contract for 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, enough to inoculate 50 million people, with the option to purchase a further 500 million.
Earlier Tuesday, Azar told CNBC that final decisions are subject to a close look at the vaccine’s efficacy data.
Based on recommendations to the government, it is likely to start vaccinating the elderly in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, health workers and first responders, with the goal of completing those vaccinations by the end of January.
Leading US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci also said in an interview with MSNBC that he expects doses of the vaccine to be available to certain high-priority groups in December.
Azar said he anticipates there will be more vaccines to protect against COVID-19 from other companies, including Moderna Inc.
“By the end of March, beginning of April, we hope to have enough for all Americans who want to get vaccinated,” Azar told CBNC.
DISTRIBUTION OF ANTIBODIES
Azar also said that the US government would begin distribution of Eli Lilly and Co’s antibody treatment this week, starting first in areas with the highest number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and cases overall.
The treatment, which is administered by infusion, received an EUA on Monday.
“We will ensure an equitable distribution and we will work closely with our governors,” Azar said. He said the government will use the same process used to distribute remdesivir, an antiviral drug from Gilead Sciences Inc that is used to treat people hospitalized with COVID-19.
According to the Health and Human Services website, the agency will ship more than 79,000 doses of the antibody therapy this week, with the largest quantity going to Wisconsin, Texas, California and Illinois.
The United States has purchased 300,000 doses of the treatment for this year and has the option to purchase an additional 650,000 doses next year.
Azar said health officials and Eli Lilly were exploring ways to provide treatment outside of hospitals, including through outpatient infusion centers.
Fauci described Lilly’s treatment as “an important first step in the development and delivery of interventions that are delivered early in the disease.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
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