First round of US vaccinations to begin on Monday

13 Dec First round of US vaccinations to begin on Monday

The United States has approved the emergency use of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, and it will begin vaccination early Monday.

The first three million doses of the vaccine would be shipped “across all states” this weekend, said Gen Gustave Perna, who is overseeing distribution.

The vaccine offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 and was deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The landmark development comes as the US recorded a daily toll of 3,309 Covid-related deaths on Saturday.

Authorising the emergency use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Friday, the FDA – which had come under intense pressure from the Trump administration to do so – said the move was a “significant milestone” in the pandemic.

During a news conference on Saturday, Gen Perna – speaking for the US government’s vaccination campaign Operation Warp Speed – said doses of the vaccine would be packed into shipping containers for transportation “within the next 24 hours”.

“Expect 145 sites across the states to receive the vaccine on Monday, another 425 sites on Tuesday, and the final 66 sites on Wednesday,” he said, adding that next week’s distribution would complete the initial delivery of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and cover about three million people.

Gen Perna told reporters he was “100% confident” that the doses “needed to defeat the enemy Covid” would be transported safely.

He warned, however, that while it had been a week of progress, “we are not done until every American has access to a vaccine”.