COVID Vaccine To Be Available For 'Higher Priority People' In US In Dec - Disease Expert

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th November, 2020) Vaccines against coronavirus will be available for "higher priority people" in the United States by mid-December, Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview with the ABC news broadcaster on Sunday.

"Help is on the way. Vaccines are really right on the horizon. We will be having vaccines available for the higher priority people towards the middle and end of December," Fauci said.

According to the top infectious diseases expert, the vaccines' development was carried out under the supervision of scientists and the safety and scientific nature of the process was not questioned.

Commenting on the possible side effects, Fauci said, citing the history of vaccinology, that the vaccination was usually accompanied by immediate pain in the arm or fever, noting that there was no prolonged side effects.

The specialist added that special mechanisms for monitoring patients had been developed.

Earlier in November, Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Moncef Slaoui expressed hopes that the US would immunize 20 million residents in December and at least 25 million each month in 2021. The statement came in light of the announcement by Pfizer that its vaccine candidate was 95 percent effective. In addition, Slaoui said that the US authorities might approve for emergency use two coronavirus vaccines in December.