U.S. Covid-19 Vaccinations Could Begin December 11, Says Operation Warp Speed Advisor

"Our plan is to be able to transport the vaccines to the immunization sites within 24 hours following the approval of a vaccine. [...] So I may expect maybe the second day after approval, the 11th or the 12th of December. I hope that the first people will be vaccinated across the United States, in all states, in all regions where the state health departments have told us where to deliver the vaccine," he said on Sunday on the CNN channel.

On Friday, the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its partner BioNTech submitted a request for authorization to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their vaccine candidate. After this step, an FDA vaccine advisory committee will meet on December 10. If authorized, "the vaccine could be deployed the next day," added Dr. Slaoui.

With the level of efficacy demonstrated in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, "about 70% of the vaccinated population would allow for true herd immunity, which is likely to occur during the month of May," assures the immunologist.