Healthcare workers could soon be the first group to receive COVID-19 vaccinations "this December, literally next month," Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NPR Nov. 17.
"The recommendation of who that will be will be finalized by the CDC — likely will be healthcare workers, as well as people who are at high risk for serious disease," Dr. Fauci said.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the FDA will move "as quickly as possible" to authorize Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use, reports CNBC. Tentative advisory committee meetings to review the vaccines are set for Dec. 8-10, and the process is expected to take a few weeks.
Dr. Fauci anticipates the general population will begin to get vaccinated between April and July, he told NPR.
Pfizer said Nov. 18 that it plans to submit an emergency use authorization application to the FDA within days.
The U.S. government has previously said the vaccine distribution process would begin within 24 hours after an emergency use approval, reports CNBC.
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