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REUTERS: With the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech imminent after the US authorization on Friday (December 11), major regulators sought to assure Americans that the record rate was guaranteed and there was no sacrificed safety.
“We are working quickly based on the urgency of this pandemic, not any other external pressure,” said US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn during a news conference.
The United States on Friday night granted an emergency use authorization for the vaccine for people over 16 years of age. It was shown to be 95 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in an advanced-stage trial.
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the use of the vaccine by pilots and air traffic controllers.
The US aviation regulator said pilots and controllers should not fly or perform safety-related tasks for 48 hours after receiving the doses. The FAA said it will “monitor patient response to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and may adjust this policy as necessary to ensure aviation safety.”
It is the first COVID-19 vaccine licensed in the United States, where the pandemic has killed more than 295,000 people. Great Britain, Canada and three other countries have already authorized the injection from the US company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
The Trump administration has invested billions of dollars in vaccine development and will manage distribution and allocation to states. The first 2.9 million doses are expected to leave Pfizer plants in the coming days, with more shipments each week.
Healthcare workers and seniors in long-term care facilities are expected to be the top recipients of the first wave of vaccines in December, and more U.S. residents will be eligible in January. Officials have said general availability of the vaccine is expected in April.
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