Currents News
It’s been called the “light at the end of the tunnel”: a potential vaccine for COVID-19 and the race to the finish line is ramping up.
Nov. 30 is when White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx says she hopes to brief projected winner Joe Biden’s administration on America’s response to the pandemic.
It’ll be critical for moving forward.
“We’ve spent that last nine months really developing sophisticated databases that are bringing together information from across the country down to the county level,” said Deborah. “We can see who’s being admitted, we can see who’s getting sick, we can see where this virus is moving in communities.”
On Dec.1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee On Vaccines will hold an emergency meeting.
Rick Bright, a Biden COVID-19 advisory board member, says it’s a good sign.
“They will have further discussions on how to prioritize that vaccine primarily because we know that the vaccine will be available in very limited doses,” said Rick.
On Dec. 10, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccine Advisory Committee will consider Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use authorization. The FDA says approval could take days or even weeks. Some experts say, at the earliest, vaccinations for those deemed priority could begin by Dec. 12 or 13.
By the end of the year, health experts say there should be enough doses of a COVID-19 vaccine for 20 million people.