The Likely Date for Nationwide COVID Vaccine Rollout Has Just Been Revealed
The first shipments of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine will be delivered on Dec. 15, according to an Operation Warp Speed document.
CNN obtained the document — which also predicted the first shipment of Moderna’s vaccine will be delivered on Dec. 22 — that was provided to governors before a call with Vice President Mike Pence Monday.
The vaccine rollout depends on if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes each vaccine for emergency use.
Pfizer submitted an emergency-use authorization application on Nov. 20 and Moderna submitted one on Nov. 30.
The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet on Dec. 10 to review Pfizer’s vaccine data and make a recommendation to the FDA.
Following that meeting, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the FDA will meet from Dec. 11-14 and make recommendations about who should receive the vaccine first.
After that review, the first doses of Pfizer’s vaccine will be delivered and then the process will begin again to consider Moderna’s vaccine starting on Dec. 17.
The Operation Warp Speed document estimated 22.5 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 18 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine will be produced in December.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that his state will receive enough doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for 170,000 people in its first delivery.
“New York’s first delivery of the Pfizer vaccine will be enough for 170,000 New Yorkers,” the Democrat tweeted.
“We expect, if all safety & efficacy approvals are granted, to receive these doses on December 15.”
New York’s first delivery of the Pfizer vaccine will be enough for 170,000 New Yorkers.
We expect, if all safety & efficacy approvals are granted, to receive these doses on December 15.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 2, 2020
The CDC’s ACIP recommends health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities should be the first to receive the vaccine, according to The Hill.
The recommendations will be sent to CDC Director Robert Redfield for approval before they become official CDC guidance.
Once the recommendations are adopted, other groups including people older than 65, essential workers and people with underlying medical conditions will have to wait for the second phase of the vaccine rollout before they can receive it.
States have until Friday to submit vaccination distribution plans to the federal government, but they don’t necessarily have to follow the CDC’s recommendations.
Governors are supposed to complete other “essential tasks” by Dec. 4, including pre-ordering Pfizer’s vaccine and enrolling providers in the COVID-19 vaccine program, according to CNN.
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