Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said Friday that the Food and Drug Administration will move toward an emergency use authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine within days.
“We will work with Pfizer to get that shipped out and so we could see people getting vaccinated Monday, Tuesday of next week,” Azar told ABC News.
The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 17-4 on Thursday to recommend approval of the vaccine created by Pfizer and BioNTech for emergency use authorization.
“Following yesterday’s positive advisory committee meeting outcome regarding the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has informed the sponsor that it will rapidly work toward finalization and issuance of an emergency use authorization,” the FDA said in a statement Friday morning. “The agency has also notified the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Operation Warp Speed, so they can execute their plans for timely vaccine distribution.
If the Moderna vaccine is also given an EUA by the FDA, as is expected, up to 20 million people in the United States could be vaccinated in December. Azar said that 100 million people in the U.S. could be vaccinated by the end of February.
