Story at a glance
- “The priority is to make sure we distribute these vaccines to Americans before we start shipping them around the world to get international access,” a senior administration official told Fox News.
- Officials said international assistance could come in late spring or early summer after vaccinations become broadly available to the general public in the U.S.
- The move comes as a panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers will meet Thursday to assess Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine and vote on whether to grant emergency use authorization.
President Trump is set to sign an executive order that would prioritize the distribution of a coronavirus vaccine to Americans before the U.S. begins helping other nations around the world with their vaccine rollout, Fox News reports.
The news outlet cited senior administration officials who said Trump plans to issue the order during a COVID-19 vaccine summit at the White House Tuesday.
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“The priority is to make sure we distribute these vaccines to Americans before we start shipping them around the world to get international access,” a senior administration official told Fox News.
Officials said international assistance could come in late spring or early summer after vaccinations become broadly available to the general public in the U.S. The order will also identify “who will be working with the international aspect of this, the framework, guides and tools, for when we have an excess supply to meet those demands.”
The move comes as a panel of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisers will meet Thursday to assess Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine that showed to be 95 percent effective in late-stage clinical trials. Vaccinations could kick off as early as Friday once the drug receives approval.
Moncef Slaoui, the head of the White House’s coronavirus vaccine effort, told CBS News Sunday that he expected the FDA to issue the authorization.
“The first vaccine shipment will happen on the day after the vaccine is approved,” Slaoui said. “That’s how we planned it. If the vaccine is approved on the 10th or the 11th, the minute it’s approved, the shipments will start.”
The first doses of an approved vaccine are going to be prioritized for frontline health care workers and elderly long-term care residents. People older than 65, essential workers and those with underlying medical conditions will be immunized in a second phase.
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