The U.S. hopes to vaccinate 100 million people against the coronavirus by the end of February, according the Moncel Slaoui, PhD, chief adviser to the U.S. effort to fight COVID-19, The Hill reports.
The 100 million people would include all of the country's front-line healthcare workers, the elderly and people with underlying conditions. Dr. Slaoui said he based the estimate on the number of vaccines both Moderna and Pfizer have said they can distribute by then.
If Johnson & Johnson's vaccine candidate is authorized before February, that estimate could increase, Dr. Slaoui told The Hill. He said he expects the drugmaker to release its late-stage trial data in January.
Gen. Gustave Perna, CEO of the U.S. coronavirus-fighting effort, Operation Warp Speed, said the government will ship 6.4 million doses of Pfizer's vaccine within 24 hours of FDA authorization and 12.5 million doses of Moderna's in the same time period, The Hill reported.
States have until Dec. 4 to submit to the federal government their final plans for vaccine distribution.
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