Coronavirus vaccination could start in US from Monday: US health secretary
Pfizer vaccine
After the US Food and Drug Association(FDA) recommended the authorisation of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, US health secretary Alex Azar said the country could start its vaccination drive from Monday.
Watch:
"We could be seeing people get vaccinated Monday, Tuesday of next week. So, it's very close, it's really just the last dotting of I's and crossing of T's," Azar told US TV networks as the country grapples with the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) needs to recommend the vaccine after the US FDA gave its approval which should happen this weekend.
Once the vaccine receives an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) status in the USA, the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed will begin the distribution process nationwide.
The US government hopes to immunize 20 million people this month with 100 million by February with care facility residents and health care workers to be vaccinated first.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine needs two doses for a patient 21-days apart for use in people aged 16 to 85 as the US FDA said it was working rapidly to issue an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine
The FDA has already notified the US CDC and Trump administration's "Operation Warp Speed" to begin execution plans for vaccine distribution.