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 Some 70% of the U.S. population of 330 million would need to be
inoculated to achieve "herd" immunity from the virus, a goal the
country could achieve by May, according to Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief
scientific adviser for "Operation Warp Speed."
Slaoui said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would likely
grant approval in mid-December for distribution of the vaccine
produced by Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech, launching the
largest inoculation campaign in U.S. history.
The FDA's outside advisers are slated to meet on Dec. 10 to review
Pfizer's emergency-use application for its vaccine, which the
company said was found to be 95% effective against infection from
the highly contagious respiratory virus.
A second pharmaceutical company, Moderna Inc, is expected to seek
separate approval later in December for its COVID-19 vaccine.
Appearing on several network news shows on Sunday morning, Slaoui
sketched out a timeline for getting the initial doses of the Pfizer
vaccine from FDA authorization into the arms of those who will be
first in line to receive it.
"Within 24 hours from the approval, the vaccine will be moving and
located in the areas where each state will have told us where they
want the vaccine doses," Slaoui told NBC's "Meet the Press."
"So I would expect, maybe on day two after approval on the 11th or
12th of December, hopefully the first people will be immunized
across the United States," he said on CNN's "State of the Union"
program.
Once emergency-use approval is granted, Slaoui said, the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and an advisory
panel on immunization practices will recommend who should receive
the vaccine first.
Slaoui said they are likely to include doctors, nurses and
"front-line" emergency medical personnel, as well as individuals
considered to be at the highest risk of severe illness and death
from the virus, such as the elderly.
Public health authorities in each state will be responsible for
administering the vaccine roll-out, with the first doses distributed
to the states proportionate to their populations, he said.
President-elect Joe Biden and his advisers have voiced concern that
President Donald Trump's continued refusal to share vaccine data and
distribution plans with Biden's transition team could cause delays
after the next administration takes office on Jan. 20.
Slaoui said he hoped for a smooth hand-off and did not expect the
vaccination effort to be derailed.
Graphic: Where coronavirus cases are rising and falling in the
United States - https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-TRENDS/dgkvlgkrkpb/index.html
SURGING CASES AND SUPER-SPREADERS
Details on the timeline emerged as coronavirus infections continued
to rage out of control across the country, further straining
hospitals besieged with growing numbers of COVID-19 patients.
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Public health experts worried that the surge will only worsen, as millions of
Americans prepared to travel and congregate in family groups for Thanksgiving
celebrations, despite warnings that they stay home to avoid spreading the
disease.
Many people were scrambling to get tested before Thursday's holiday, leading to
long lines at screening sites in New York City and elsewhere. Most pharmacies
offering COVID-19 tests in suburban Chicago were fully booked.
"I believe COVID rates will increase just as I believe most New Yorkers will put
on weight," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lamented at a Sunday press
conference.
Cuomo also said the city was investigating reports of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish
wedding that drew some 7,000 people to a reception in Brooklyn, video footage of
which showed throngs of maskless guests celebrating shoulder to shoulder.
The United States surpassed 12 million COVID-19 cases on Saturday, as the
nation's death toll climbed to more than 255,000 since the pandemic began.
Reuters data showed the pace of new infections quickening, with nearly 1 million
more cases documented over the past six days, compared with the eight days it
took to get from 10 million to 11 million cases.
The epicenter of the U.S. pandemic has also shifted in recent weeks, with the
Midwest and Rockies leading the nation in terms of rapidly escalating
infections.
"It's really spread across the country," Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the
Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University, said on "Fox News
Sunday." "It's not just in big cities, but it's in rural locations, small
towns."
While the prospect of effective vaccines has brought new hope to a country whose
social and economic life has been upended by the virus, public distrust of
inoculations runs high. In a recent Gallup poll, just 58% of Americans said they
planned to get a COVID-19 vaccine, up from 50% in September.
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said vaccine distribution also
brings formidable logistical challenges.
"Vaccines don't save lives, vaccinations safe lives," he told ABC on Sunday.
"The much bigger step is actually getting those vaccinations to the American
people. That's hard."
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Additional reporting by Will Dunham; Writing by Lisa
Shumaker and Steve Gorman; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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