THE head of the White House “Operation Warp Speed ” Moncef Slaoui said on Sunday that some Americans will begin receiving the vaccine for COVID-19 as soon as December 11.
A panel of outside experts that advises the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to meet on December 10 to discuss Pfizer’s application for an emergency use authorisation, but it’s not clear how quickly FDA would act on the panel’s recommendation.
He also predicted that life for Americans could return to normal by May due to the rollout of the vaccine, but he said the public perception of the vaccine needed to become more positive.
Slaoui, who was tapped to head the White House effort to develop a vaccine earlier this year, told CNN’s Jake Tapper during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he and his colleagues hoped to ship the vaccine to immunisation sites within 24 hours of receiving approval to do so by the Food and Drug Administration.
It’s not clear how quickly FDA would act on the panel’s recommendation. Clinical trials showed that Pfizer’s vaccine was 95% effective in preventing people from getting sick with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the company said.