The White House has invited pharmaceutical companies and drug distributors to a COVID-19 vaccine summit next Monday, two days before the Food and Drug Administration is to consider emergency approval for the first immunizations to halt the coronavirus pandemic.
President Trump has frequently complained that the approval process is taking too long, but officials now believe that work to distribute vaccines across the country will begin next week.
That will trigger an extraordinary logistical effort to ensure that millions of the most vulnerable people can be protected from a virus that has killed more than 250,000 in the United States.
Representatives of Pfizer and Moderna, which have reported success rates above 90% for their vaccines, are among the guests invited to Monday’s event, according to a senior administration official, along with the distribution companies that will help transport the vaccine to where it is needed.
Pfizer’s application for emergency use authorization is due to go before the FDA on Dec. 10, and the official said vaccines could be reaching states before the end of the week.
“It’s about making the case, setting the stage,” he said. “There’s a thought process that distribution could begin 24 hours after the FDA reviews and approves the emergency use approval application from Pfizer, meaning Dec. 11 or Dec. 12 if delayed.”
“States could begin receiving it then so they can get it into people’s arms,” he said.
Details of the event were first revealed by the health news website STAT, which obtained an invitation.
The president and vice president are expected to deliver remarks, along with presentations by Operation Warp Speed officials, who oversaw the federal effort to accelerate vaccine development from more than a decade to less than a year, and state representatives on how they will roll out immunization programs.
The event will be seen as another occasion for the Trump administration to take credit for the achievement, just as he prepares to leave office.
But some of the hard work is just beginning, with drug distributors and logistics companies moving center stage.
Walgreens, CVS, FedEx, and McKesson, the pharmaceutical distributor, will be at the White House on Monday, said the official.
“It will highlight the unprecedented nature of the vaccine development and bring in private sector and public sector partners that are going to be involved in distribution,” he said.
Trump himself again highlighted the rapid pace of development in an interview over the weekend.
“I came up with vaccines that people didn’t think we’d have for five years,” he told Fox News.
