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WASHINGTON: The United States expects to have immunized 100 million people against COVID-19 by the end of February, a senior official said on Wednesday (Dec. 2), representing about 40 percent of the country’s adult population.
The momentum should begin in a few weeks, when the vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna-NIH are expected to be approved.
Each of these requires two doses, the second after three weeks and four weeks, respectively.
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“Between mid-December and the end of February, we will have potentially immunized 100 million people,” Moncef Slaoui, scientific advisor to the government’s Operation Warp Speed (OWS) program, told reporters.
This, he continued, would cover the “at risk” population comprising the elderly, health workers and first responders.
There will be a “large” supply of vaccine to immunize 3 million residents of long-term care facilities in December, said the former pharmaceutical executive, who was recruited by President Donald Trump’s administration in the spring.
The remainder of the first tranche would be enough to reach the bulk of health workers, if states and other territories agree with federal recommendations to prioritize this population.
As production of the two vaccines expands, it will reach 20 million in December, 30 million in January and 50 million in February, for a total of 100 million.
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However, this figure excludes other Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines that are in the late stages of development.
Slaoui said both could produce their results between late December and mid-January, paving the way for emergency approval in February if the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives the green light.
Slaoui added that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine could be evaluated solely on the basis of a large clinical trial in the US involving 15,000 people, and not on data from Great Britain and Brazil, where data has been clouded by a dose problem.
While Britain approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday, the process is slower and more public in the United States.
FDA will not grant an emergency use authorization (EUA) before a public meeting of an advisory committee is held on December 10. For the Moderna vaccine, a similar meeting will be held on December 17.
Authorities say logistics have been put in place to begin distributing the vaccines, if approved, almost immediately.
“When a decision comes from the US, distribution to the American people becomes immediate within 24 hours, that’s our goal,” said General Gus Perna, OWS director of operations.
Right now, he expects to deliver the first doses on December 15.
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