CDC Director: COVID-19 vaccine to be rolled out second week of December

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield said on Tuesday that a COVID-19 vaccine would be released “by the end of the second week of December.”

During a segment on Fox News, Redfield was asked by “Daily Briefing” host Dana Perino how government agencies would determine who received the vaccine first.

“I think it’s really important. Number one, it’s, you know, exceptional that we have these vaccines. And it’s very exciting. And, again, that only reinforces the reason I want people to be vigilant because we’re turning the corner now. You don’t want to be the last group to end up getting COVID because the vaccine is going to start rolling out probably by the end of the second week of December, ”Redfield said.

The CDC director said there will be a hierarchy as to who gets the vaccine first based on risk and exposure.

“Initially, in a hierarchical fashion, residents of nursing homes, then a combination of health care providers and people at high risk of poor outcomes. And those decisions are being finalized as we speak.

Health officials have previously said the vaccine is unlikely to be widely available to the public until the middle of next year.

“I think we’ll have around 40 million doses of vaccine by the end of the first year,” Redfield added, noting that this amount would immunize 20 million people.

The White House would like to be able to provide a vaccine to 300 million people.

The companies Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have announced that their candidate vaccines have been shown to be effective in preventing the contraction of the disease.

Last week, Pfizer sought emergency Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its vaccine, and Moderna is expected to do the same by the end of the month.

An FDA advisory committee will meet on December 10 to discuss Pfizer and BioNTech’s request for emergency use authorization for their candidate as well.

White House COVID-19 vaccine development team chief advisor Moncef Slaoui on Sunday said people could start receiving vaccinations as early as 48 hours after a vaccine is approved.

News of vaccine distribution comes at a critical time for the United States. The country averages more than one million new cases of coronavirus every week and the number of cases continues to rise as colder temperatures set in.

In addition, health officials have strongly warned Americans against travel for the upcoming holidays, saying widespread travel could make the pandemic worse.



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