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US HEALTHCARE workers and others recommended for the nation’s first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines could begin receiving vaccines within a day or two after regulatory consent next month, a senior said Sunday. official of the government vaccine development effort.
About 70% of the US population of 330 million would need to be inoculated to achieve “herd” immunity to the virus, a goal the country could achieve in May, according to Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific advisor to “Operation Warp Speed ”. “
Slaoui said the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would likely grant approval in mid-December for the distribution of the vaccine produced by Pfizer, Inc and German partner BioNTech, launching the largest inoculation campaign in the United States history.
The FDA’s external advisers are scheduled to meet Dec. 10 to review Pfizer’s emergency use request for its vaccine, which the company said was 95% effective against infection from the highly contagious respiratory virus.
A second pharmaceutical company, Moderna, Inc., is expected to seek separate approval in late December for its COVID-19 vaccine.
Appearing on various network news shows Sunday morning, Mr. Slaoui outlined a schedule for the initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine from FDA clearance to reach the arms of those who will be the first to receive it.
“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 vaccine doses,” Slaoui told NBC. Meet the press.
“So I would wait, maybe the second day after the approval of the 11th or 12th December, the first people are expected to be immunized in the United States, “he said on CNN. State of the union Program.
Once approval for emergency use is granted, Slaoui said, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and an advisory panel on immunization practices will recommend who should get the vaccine first.
Slaoui said they are likely to include “front-line” doctors, nurses and emergency medical personnel, as well as people considered to be at higher risk of serious illness and death from the virus, such as the elderly.
Public health authorities in each state will be responsible for managing the deployment of the vaccine, and the first doses will be distributed to states in proportion to their populations, he said.
President-elect Joe Biden and his advisers have expressed concern that President Donald Trump’s continued refusal to share vaccine data and distribution plans with Biden’s transition team could cause delays after the next administration takes office on January 20.
Mr. Slaoui said he expected a smooth handover and did not expect the vaccination effort to go off the rails. Details on the timeline emerged as coronavirus infections spiraled further out of control across the country, besieging hospitals with a growing number. of COVID-19 patients.
The crisis prompted state and local government leaders across the country to re-impose restrictions on social and economic life in hopes of breaking the cycle of transmission.
On Sunday, Los Angeles County health officials announced that outdoor service in restaurants, bars and wineries would be banned for at least the next three weeks, as the daily number of new coronavirus cases exceeded an average of five. 4,000 days.
The new measure, which restricts restaurants in and around the country’s second-largest city to takeout and deliveries for only the first time since late May, takes effect Wednesday.
Health experts worry the increase will only get worse as millions of Americans prepare to travel and gather in family groups for Thanksgiving celebrations, despite warnings that they stay home to avoid spread the disease.
Many people were struggling to get tested before Thursday’s holiday, leading to long lines at screening sites in New York City and elsewhere. Most of the pharmacies offering COVID-19 testing in the Chicago suburbs were completely full. “I think COVID rates will go up just as I think most New Yorkers will gain weight,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lamented at a news conference Sunday.
The United States surpassed 12 million COVID-19 cases on Saturday, as the death toll in the country rose to more than 255,000 since the pandemic began. Hospitalizations for coronavirus have risen almost 50% in the last two weeks. – Reuters
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