Vaccine chief Trump Covid says everyone in US could be vaccinated by June

The entire U.S. population could be vaccinated against Covid-19 by June, and there could be enough doses to immunize the rest of the nearly 8 billion people worldwide by early in mid-2022, a the Trump administration’s vaccine chief said on Tuesday.

“Hopefully by the middle of the year, hopefully most Americans will have been vaccinated, which means the level of hesitation that currently exists will have diminished because people will have learned more about it. information … about the vaccine, ”Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser to the White House’s Operation Warp Speed, told the Washington Post in a live interview.

If enough people get vaccinated, he said the United States “should get this pandemic under control in the second half of 2021”.

Two companies – Pfizer and Moderna – have now requested emergency clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for their coronavirus vaccines, which could be given the green light within weeks. Slaoui said there would be around 40 million doses available by the end of the year, which would be enough for 20 million people since both vaccines require two vaccines per person.

He said it was “a lot” of doses to manufacture, but it was “a small number compared to the American population and the needs we have,” adding that people should continue to follow the guidelines. health issues, such as wearing headgear and keeping a physical distance from others in the meantime.

Initial doses will likely be reserved for frontline healthcare workers, followed by vulnerable Americans, such as the elderly or those with underlying illnesses that put them at higher risk for serious illness. A panel of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, is due to vote Tuesday on who should be prioritized for vaccinations.

“Although we are all very excited to see these vaccines come out, it will be some time before the entire population is vaccinated,” Slaoui said.

Operation Warp Speed ​​is working with six pharmaceutical companies to develop, manufacture and distribute their Covid-19 vaccines. In addition to Pfizer and Moderna, the federal government has entered into supply agreements with AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax for the first doses of their vaccines after authorization.

Slaoui said Moderna and Pfizer would likely deliver between 60 million and 70 million doses by January, which would be enough for at least 30 million people since each takes two sets of doses, he said. After January, other vaccines could be added to this mix if they are cleared by the FDA, adding an additional 30 million and 50 million doses from other companies, he said.

“Very quickly, we will start having over 150 million doses per month in March, April, May,” Slaoui said.

However, it will take many more doses of the vaccine to inoculate nearly 8 billion people worldwide and achieve so-called herd immunity.

Each of the six companies in the operation’s portfolio has the capacity to manufacture between 500 million and 1 billion doses by the end of 2021, which could provide up to 6 billion doses of vaccine next year.

However, there are other vaccines in development that could help with the supply, he said. As of Nov. 12, 48 vaccines were in clinical trials and more than 200 were in development worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

“I think it’s reassuring because between that and the other vaccines in development, I hope that by early 2022 or mid-2022 most of the world will have been vaccinated,” said Slaoui.

– CNBC Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.