[ad_1]
The Trump administration’s senior advisor to Operation Warp Speed said a coronavirus vaccine could be shipped to states by mid-December once it receives approval from Food and Drug Administration.
“Our plan is to be able to ship the vaccines to the vaccination sites within 24 hours of approval, so I may wait until the second day after approval on December 11 or 12,” Dr Moncef said Sunday. Slaoui on CNN.
He said states working with advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will decide who gets priority to receive the first doses.
“Maybe they are healthcare workers, maybe frontline workers, maybe very high risk people, older people, people with co-morbidities. We will have already identified with each state and health department where they want the vaccines to be located, ”Slaoui said in an interview with NBC News’s“ Meet the Press ”.
Pfizer, which has partnered with German company BioNTech on a candidate vaccine, said on Friday it had requested emergency use clearance from the FDA.
An expert panel will review the request on December 10, which means the vaccine can be ready for distribution before the end of the year.
Biotech company Moderna, which also said its vaccine is 95% successful, will seek emergency use authorization in the coming weeks.
Slaoui said the work of developing and planning the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine has been kept “isolated” from political concerns and is ready to start regardless of who occupies the White House.
“The operation was isolated from the administration, the political environment and the political context. We are working very hard to ensure that is the case. And, therefore, all decisions are made, the train rolls. Whether it’s one administration or another, it frankly doesn’t make any difference, ”he told NBC.
President Trump has blocked President-elect Joe Biden from funds and mechanisms for his transition as he continues to challenge the 2020 election results in multiple states after the former vice president garners 306 college votes electoral – beyond the 270 needed to achieve victory.
NBC’s Chuck Todd asked Slaoui if he wanted to start advising the new Biden administration next week.
“I understand that all the information that I have made public, of course, I will make it public to the new administration. I shouldn’t be saying, I’ve been advised that I shouldn’t say anything confidential to anyone, including, you know, anyone outside of administration, and therefore, I will act in accordance with legal requirements, “he said.
[ad_2]
Source link