4 years ago
The United States plans to distribute Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine in the first week. Vaccine is likely to be administered to 6.4 million people in the first phase in December, once approved by US regulatory body for emergency use.
Decision will be made by a committee meeting of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 10. Experts say increase in the number of deaths from coronavirus infections and new infections in the United States has led to an emergency.
Latest figures released on Tuesday put death toll in the United States at 260,000, with 12.5 million people infected. More than 2,000 people have died from corona infections and 167,000 have been infected in the past 24 hours.
General Gustav Parna, chief operating officer of the US government's "Operation Warp Speed," said about 40 million doses of vaccine would be available by the end of December.
That figure includes vaccine developed by Modern. Parna said it was "very effective" last year, and that possibility of using modern vaccine in an emergency was being discussed as details became public.
Pfizer vaccine should be kept at a very cold temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius. That's why company has arranged special storage to keep vaccine safe for 15 days.
Parna also said that vaccines would be distributed to all US states proportionately on the basis of population. Federal government will make recommendations on who to prioritize, including elderly, high-risk, and leading workers.
