20 million Americans could be vaccinated against covid in December 2020

Copyediting by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA 

According to Dr. Moncef Slaoui, twenty million Americans could receive a covi vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 in December 2020. Another 25 to 30 million Americans per month after December on an ongoing basis will also be immunized if vaccine doses are sufficient.

Dr. Moncef Slaoui is the co-lead of Operation Warp Speed, the public-private partnership aiming to develop and distribute a safe and effective vaccine in the U.S. as quickly as possible.

Dr Slaoui said, “We plan to have enough vaccine doses available for use in the U.S. population to immunize about 20 million individuals in the month of December, and another 25 to 30 million per month on an ongoing basis from there on."

He added, “And as of the month of February or March, if we have more vaccines approved, “we may be able to immunize a larger number of Americans, on an ongoing basis, per month.”

At a White House media briefing on 13 November 2020, President Donald Trump and other officials gave an update on the mission to get a covi vaccine out to those who most need it most, and also on when such vaccinations could be more widely available.

Successful emergency-use applications could mean both Pfizer and Moderna could soon begin to distribute vaccines for Americans who need them the most.

Pfizer hopes to receive emergency-use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its vaccine, which is reportedly more than 90 percent effective, in a matter of weeks, which could effectively bring about the beginning of the end of the nation’s health crisis.

The company Moderna, which is working with the National Institutes of Health, according to Politico, could also announce in the coming days the efficacy of its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are expected to be widely available for the general public  in the U.S. “as soon as”  April 2021 according to Trump.

Trump said, “No medical breakthrough of this scope and magnitude has ever been achieved this rapidly, this quickly. And we’re very proud of it, and I had tremendous help from the military — generals, admirals — and many of the great people at the White House.” He is optimistic when speaking about the success of Operation Warp Speed.

Trump added, “The average development timeline for the vaccine, including clinical tests and manufacturing, can take eight to 12 years. Through Operation Warp Speed, we’re doing it in less than one year."

“If you had a different administration with different people, what we’ve done would have taken, in my opinion, three, four, five years, and it would have been in the FDA forever,” the president added.

Trump ended, “This is five times faster than the fastest prior vaccine development in history.” 

Trump said initial doses of the vaccine would go to front-line workers, elderly Americans and those at a high risk of suffering from covid-related complications.

“By vaccinating the elderly and the high risk, we will effectively end this phase of the pandemic and allow seniors to reclaim their golden years,” the president said.

Trump also indicated that vaccine doses will not be delivered to New York state until Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signals he will distribute them “immediately.”

“As soon as April, the vaccine will be available to the entire general population, with the exception of places like New York state, where, for political reasons, the governor decided … he wants to take his time with the vaccine,” the president added. “He doesn’t trust where the vaccine is coming from.”

The governor “will have to let us know when he’s ready for it,” Trump said. “Otherwise, we can’t be delivering it to a state that won’t be giving it to its people immediately.”

Source: Western Journal, https://www.westernjournal.com/20-million-americans-vaccinated-covid-december/?utm_source=push&utm_medium=westernjournalism&utm_content=2020-11-14&utm_campaign=pushtraffic