Millions of doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed to state governments in December, health officials said.
Operation Warp Speed officials told reporters Tuesday that they anticipate 6.4 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine to be deployed to states and territories by mid-December pending approval of the vaccine by the Food and Drug Administration.
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said it will be up to states to decide how they prioritize distribution of the vaccines.
“[Governors] will decide whom the vaccine is given to,” Azar said. “We hope that our recommendations will carry weight with them, but at the end of the day, they will make that decision.”
Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca have all completed clinical trials for their first round of vaccines for COVID-19, and each of the three companies posted above 90% efficacy rates for their therapeutics.
Officials with Pfizer said earlier in November that they had requested an emergency use authorization from the FDA to distribute their vaccine.
More than 250,000 people in the United States have died following complications arising from COVID-19, according to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker.
