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This photo taken on May 23, 2020 shows a lab technician holding a dose of a vaccine candidate against the novel coronavirus COVID-19. (Photo by MLADEN ANTONOV / AFP via Getty Images)
To the press room
UPDATE 6:30 p.m. PT – Wednesday, December 2, 2020
The Trump administration has touted the continued success of “ Operation Warp Speed ” in its latest update in the fight for the development of the COVID-19 vaccine.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, chief operations adviser Moncef Slaoui predicted that at least 100 million Americans would be immune to the virus by the end of February.
This came as about 20 million people are expected to be vaccinated with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in December alone.
Slaoui added that 30 million people will be vaccinated by January and 50 million by February.
White House press secretary @KayleighMcEnany says 40 million doses of coronavirus vaccine will be available by the end of the year pic.twitter.com/iqgeAVKy0S
– Team Trump (@TeamTrump) December 2, 2020
Vaccine pioneers “Pfizer” and “Moderna” have both sent their vaccines to the FDA for emergency approval. Each of the two has proven to be highly effective at around 95%.
Once approved, the Warp Speed team can begin shipping doses within two days of authorization. Operations chief Gen. Gus Perna said they will release doses as soon as they are available.
“We don’t wait for a bunch of vaccines to be available and then push forward,” Perna said. “We want a rhythmic and timed distribution of the vaccine so that states can best manage it according to priorities as they develop.”
State officials will determine who should receive the vaccine first. Advocacy groups have called for healthcare workers and the elderly to be considered.
In addition, it is not known whether the “Pfizer” and “Moderna” vaccines will be available after February. However, officials said other companies such as ‘Johnson and Johnson’ and ‘AstraZeneca’ are also in the running to produce coronavirus vaccines. They could get approval early next year.
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