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WASHINGTON – The United States hopes to begin an extensive COVID-19 vaccination program in early December, the head of the government’s coronavirus vaccine effort said Sunday as cases increase in the worst-hit nation.
The start of vaccinations could be a crucial turning point in the battle against the virus that has claimed more than 255,000 lives in the United States, the highest toll in the world since leaving China late last year.
“Our plan is to be able to ship vaccines to immunization sites within 24 hours of approval” by the US Food and Drug Administration, Moncef Slaoui told CNN, indicating possible dates of 11. -12 December.
FDA vaccine consultants will reportedly meet on December 10 to discuss the approval of vaccines that pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna say are at least 95% effective.
Worldwide, nearly 1.4 million people have died this year and at least 58 million cases have been recorded.
Slaoui estimated that 20 million people in the United States could be vaccinated in December, with 30 million a month later.
‘BREEDING IMMUNITY’ BY MAY?
He said that by May, with potentially 70% of the population vaccinated, the country could gain “herd immunity,” which means the virus can no longer spread widely and that people can get close to resuming their pre -coronavirus. of life.
But Slaoui added a note of caution, saying, “I really hope and can’t wait to see the level of negative perception of the vaccine decrease and people’s acceptance increases.
“It will be essential to help us.”
A recent Gallup poll showed that four out of 10 Americans still say they would not receive a COVID-19 vaccine, even though this is slightly down from five in 10 surveyed in September.
Slaoui said he thought it would help persuade vaccine skeptics to know that studies have shown the new vaccines to be 95% effective, well above the 50% level that a previous target for vaccine approval.
Officials have yet to announce which population groups would receive the vaccine first, although it is certain that health workers will receive priority, followed by vulnerable groups such as the elderly.
Slaoui said that while the studies only ensured short-term safety, decades of experience showed that nearly all adverse effects of vaccines occurred within 40 days of administration, while current studies protected 60 days.
With the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, Slaoui added, there were no serious adverse effects during that time.
For now, the vaccines have not been tested on young children, but the doctor said trials are underway, with the possibility that children could be vaccinated starting in the second quarter of 2021, with children coming later.
Countries around the world, as well as international organizations, were making plans for the global distribution of these vaccines and potentially others in development.
The G20 countries, in a virtual meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia, intend to pledge to “spare no effort” to ensure a fair distribution of coronavirus vaccines around the world, according to a draft statement seen on Sunday by AFP.
The communiqué, however, did not offer details on how the effort would be financed.
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