Trump announces vaccine rollout ‘in less than 24 hours’
The first Americans will be vaccinated against coronavirus in the next 24 hours, President Donald Trump has announced, as the US last night authorised the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine for emergency use.
In a video message posted on Twitter, Trump said the first doses of the “medical miracle” drug would be “free [of charge] for all Americans”.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last night deemed the Pfizer vaccine “safe and effective”, after it proved up to 95 per cent effective in clinical trials.
It comes after the FDA faced intense pressure from the Trump administration to follow the UK’s drugs regulatory board and approve the vaccine’s use for emergency rollout.
Stephen Hahn, head of the agency, was told to approve the jab for emergency use by Friday or quit, US media reported.
Earlier in the day yesterday, Trump sent out an angry tweet calling the FDA a “big, old, slow turtle”, adding: “Get the dam vaccines out NOW, Dr Hahn. Stop playing games and start saving lives.”
The pandemic has claimed more than 295,000 lives in the US, with infection rates showing little signs of slowing across many states. On Wednesday, the country recorded more than 3,000 Covid-related deaths — the highest daily jump anywhere in the world since the coronavirus crisis began.
Announcing the drug’s approval, the President said the vaccine “will save millions of lives and soon end the pandemic once and for all.”
However, health officials insisted it will be months before many Americans are inoculated, adding that a complete eradication of Covid-19 in the country is far from assured.
The FDA added that emergency use is not synonymous with full approval, which Pfizer will need to to file a separate application to secure.
“While not an FDA approval, today’s emergency use authorisation of the Pfizer/Biontech Covid-19 Vaccine holds the promise to alter the course of this pandemic in the United States,” said Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
The Pfizer vaccine has already received regulatory approval in the UK, Canada, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Following the lead of the NHS rollout across Britain, the US will give its first doses of the vaccine to the elderly, health workers and emergency staff.