Americans may get two Covid-19 vaccines before Christmas this year as US is eyeing to administer the first two candidates, said Health Secretary Alex Azar Monday. The announcement came after Moderna Inc became the second vaccine maker likely to receive US emergency authorization.
Azar told CBS “This Morning” that he and Vice President Mike Pence will speak to the nation’s governors later on Monday to discuss the vaccines and which groups of people should be prioritized to get them first.
“With today’s announcement from Moderna, we’ll now have two potential COVID-19 vaccines being reviewed by US FDA for emergency use authorization,” Azar tweeted.
The Food and Drug Administration’s outside advisers will meet on 10 December to consider authorizing Pfizer Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine. That vaccine could be approved and shipped within days, with Moderna’s following one week behind that, Azar said.
The federal government will ship the vaccines through its normal vaccine distrubution system, with state governors determining where they should go first, Azar said.
“They will be determining which groups to be prioritized. I would hope that the science and the evidence will be clear enough that our governors will follow the recommendations that we will make to them,” Azar said.❐
With today's announcement from Moderna, we'll now have two potential COVID-19 vaccines being reviewed by @US_FDA for emergency use authorization. Science and data are driving the process. #OperationWarpSpeed continues our work with states and jurisdictions to plan distribution.
— Alex Azar (@SecAzar) November 30, 2020
