United States sets record for Covid-19 hospitalizations

The first shipments of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine will be delivered on December 15, according to an Operation Warp Speed ​​document obtained by CNN on Tuesday.

The document, provided to governors ahead of a call with the vice president on Monday, also estimated that the first shipment of Moderna vaccine would be delivered on December 22.

These distribution dates depend on the decision of the United States Food and Drug Administration to clear each vaccine for emergency use. Pfizer submitted an application to the FDA on November 20 and Moderna submitted an application on November 30.

The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biologics Advisory Committee, a group of independent experts, will meet on December 10 to review Pfizer’s data and make a recommendation to the FDA on whether or not to approve the vaccine.

The document describes a four-day window between Dec. 11 and Dec. 14 for review by the FDA and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which makes recommendations on who should receive the vaccine first. On December 15, the first doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine will be delivered, according to plan.

Next, VRBPAC is expected to review Moderna’s vaccine on December 17. After a four-day review window from December 18 to December 21, the document indicated that the first shipments of Moderna vaccine were expected to be delivered on December 22.

The document included a vaccine manufacturing forecast, estimating that 22.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccine and 18 million doses of Moderna vaccine will be produced in December.

A list of “essential tasks” has been included for governors to complete by December 4, including pre-ordering Pfizer vaccines, enrolling providers in the Covid-19 vaccination program, and completing microplans for distribution and administration.