Jubilee Post News & Views
Special Desk
The US public will receive the coronavirus vaccine from December 14, after it has been authorised for emergency use.
The first three million doses of the vaccine would be shipped across all states, said Gen Gustave Perna, who is overseeing distribution. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 and was deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Coronavirus deaths have been rising sharply since November in the US. Authorising the emergency use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Friday, the FDA – which had come under intense pressure from the Trump administration to do so – said the move was a “significant milestone” in the pandemic.
A mass inoculation drive using doses of the same vaccine has already begun in the UK. Gen Perna – speaking for the US government’s vaccination campaign Operation Warp Speed – said doses of the vaccine would be packed into shipping containers for transportation.
“Expect 145 sites across the states to receive the vaccine Monday onwards, another 425 sites on Tuesday, and the final 66 sites on Wednesday,” he said, adding that next week’s distribution would complete the initial delivery of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and cover about three million people.
Gen Perna told reporters he was 100% confident that the doses needed to defeat the enemy Covid would be transported safely. He warned, however, that while it had been a week of progress, “we are not done until every American has access to a vaccine”.
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Chart showing the number of Covid-19 deaths in the US since the start of the pandemic
The Pfizer vaccine has already received regulatory approval in the UK, Canada, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Like those countries, US health authorities are expected to prioritise health workers and care home residents for the first doses.
