The Next Edition
  • Home
  • About Us
  • News
  • Featured
  • Investigations
  • Foreign
  • Special Reports
  • Entertainment
  • Interviews
  • Advert Rate
No Result
View All Result
The Next Edition
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Us
  • News
  • Featured
  • Investigations
  • Foreign
  • Special Reports
  • Entertainment
  • Interviews
  • Advert Rate
Home Top News

COVID: First Round Of US Vaccinations To Begin On Monday

Next Edition by Next Edition
December 13, 2020
in Top News
Coronavirus: Russian Vaccine Shows Signs Of Immune Response
0
SHARES
1
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Whatsapp

The US public will start receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine from Monday after it was authorised for emergency use, officials say.

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

You might also like

US Cuts Nigerians’ Visa Validity To Three Months

3 Children Killed As Train Crashes Into School Van

JAMB Releases Mop-up Exam Results

The vaccine offers up to 95% protection against COVID-19 and was deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

On Saturday, the US recorded a daily toll of 3,309 Covid-related deaths.

The figure, reported on the Johns Hopkins University website, is the highest total in a single day anywhere in the world.

Coronavirus deaths have been rising sharply since November in the US.

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.

A mass inoculation drive using doses of the same vaccine has already begun in the UK.

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”.

The Pfizer vaccine has already received regulatory approval in the UK, Canada, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Like those countries, US health authorities are expected to prioritise health workers and care home residents for the first doses.

READ ALSO: U.S. Executes Second Inmate At FederalPrison In 2 Days

More Americans outside the highest-priority groups are likely to be able to get the vaccine in January, with general availability expected by April.

What has the FDA said about the vaccine?

“The FDA’s authorisation for emergency use of the first COVID-19 vaccine is a significant milestone in battling this devastating pandemic that has affected so many families in the United States and around the world,” the head of the agency, Stephen Hahn, said.

He said the authorisation came after “an open and transparent review process” that ensured the vaccine met the “FDA’s rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality”.

On Thursday, medical experts advising the FDA recommended the emergency-use authorisation. A 23-member panel concluded the vaccine’s benefits outweighed its risks.

Emergency use, the FDA said, was not the same as full approval, which would require Pfizer to file a separate application to secure.

US media reported that Mr Hahn had earlier been told to approve the vaccine for emergency use by Friday or quit.

Mr. Hahn, however, said the reports were “untrue” and stressed that the agency had not compromised safety in its testing.

How does the vaccine work?

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus jab to show promising results in the latter stages of its testing process.

It is a new type called an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how to fight Covid-19 and build immunity.

“The vaccine contains a small piece of the [Covid-19] virus’s mRNA that instructs cells in the body to make the virus’s distinctive ‘spike’ protein,” the FDA said.

When a person receives this vaccine, their body produces copies of the spike protein, which does not cause disease, but triggers the immune system to learn to react defensively, producing an immune response against [Covid-19].”

The vaccine is given as two injections, 21 days apart, with the second dose being a booster. Immunity begins to kick in after the first dose but reaches its full effect seven days after the second dose.

The vaccine must be stored at ultra-low temperatures, which makes distribution difficult. Special shipping containers that use dry ice will be used to transport frozen vials direct to the point of vaccination, Pfizer says.

 

Tags: BioNTechCanadaCoronavirusemergencyFood and Drug Administration (FDA)infectious diseasesPfizerUKUS governmentUS PUBLICvaccinationVACCINESYellow fever
Next Edition

Next Edition

Recommended For You

US Visa Applicants to Submit Social Media Handles, Email Addresses

US Cuts Nigerians’ Visa Validity To Three Months

  The United States Department of State has announced an update to its non-immigrant visa policy for Nigerian citizens. According to a press release issued by the US...

Many Trapped As Train Derails In Lagos next edition.

3 Children Killed As Train Crashes Into School Van

    About three children were killed and six others injured after a passenger train hit a school van attempting to cross a manned level crossing in the...

JAMB Eases Restrictions On Services To Aid pre-2020 Candidates

JAMB Releases Mop-up Exam Results

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of its mop-up Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) held on Saturday, June 28. In a statement yesterday...

NDLEA Nabs Drug Trafficker, Recovers Three Cocaine Parcels

NDLEA Arrests Lagos Businessman, Wife, Daughters Over Family-Run Drug Network

  The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced it has taken into custody a businessman identified as Ajah Johnson Uchenna, his wife Rosemary Uchenna, and their...

Next Post
DPR Seals 9 Filling Stations in Ondo, Ekiti for Various Offences

DPR Launches App To Tackle Hoarding, Diversion Of Petroleum Products




Related News

What to Do if UTME isn’t Holding at Your Centre —JAMB

What to Do if UTME isn’t Holding at Your Centre —JAMB

Revealed! Alleged Killer Of Super TV CEO Booked Apartment With Fake Name, Jewel

Revealed! Alleged Killer Of Super TV CEO Booked Apartment With Fake Name, Jewel

Kaduna Govt. To Build N3bn Houses For Low Income Earners – Commissioner

You Can’t Stop EFCC From Investigating You: Court To El-Rufai




The Next Edition

Office Address

3B, Agboola Aina street, Off Toyin Street,
Ikeja, Lagos.

Quick Contact Details

Phone:
08033018430
Whatsapp:
08051679910

Email:
[email protected]
[email protected]

Categories

  • Aviation
  • Beauty
  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Columnists
  • Editorial
  • Entertainment
  • Fashion
  • Featured
  • Football
  • Foreign
  • Headline News
  • Home & Garden
  • Interviews
  • Investigations
  • North Central
  • North East
  • North West
  • Opinion
  • Parenting
  • Politics
  • Relationships
  • South East
  • South West
  • South-South
  • Special Reports
  • Sports
  • Top News
  • Vox Pops

© Next Edition Business Development Limited

  • About Us
  • Advert Rate
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Us
  • News
  • Featured
  • Investigations
  • Foreign
  • Special Reports
  • Entertainment
  • Interviews
  • Advert Rate

© Next Edition Business Development Limited