WASHINGTON (AP) – Hundreds of more hospitals across the country began distributing COVID-19 shots to their workers in a rapidly expanding U.S. vaccination campaign Tuesday, while a second vaccine was moved to the U.S. peak of government authorization.
A day after the launch of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus shots, the Food and Drug Administration said its preliminary analysis confirmed the efficacy and safety of the vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. A group of outside experts is expected to vote to recommend the formula on Thursday, and the FDA’s green light will come soon after.
The Modern vaccine uses the same technology as Pfizer-BioNTech and shows similar protection against COVID-19, but is easier to handle because it does not need to be kept in the freezer below 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 degrees Celsius). .
Another weapon against the outbreak may not arrive soon enough: the death toll in the United States exceeded 300,000 on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University, with some 2,400 people dying daily on average and new cases exceeding 210,000 daily. average. .
The devastating toll is only expected to grow in the coming weeks, fueled by holiday travel, family reunions and lax adherence to basic public health measures.
Packed with dry ice, shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine began arriving on Tuesday at an additional 400 hospitals and other distribution sites.
The first 3 million shots are being strictly rationed to front-line health care workers and nursing home patients, with the need for hundreds of millions more shots over the next few months to protect most Americans.
The deployment provided a measure of encouragement to exhausted doctors, nurses and hospital staff across the country.
Maritza Beniquez has had a seat in the front row in the face of the devastation that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused to the colorful communities of New Jersey, so she jumped at the chance to take the vaccine that is achieved as a point of turning into the long and grueling battle against the virus.
The 56-year-old emergency nurse at Newark University Hospital became the first person in New Jersey to receive the vaccine Tuesday. All recipients will get a second chance a few weeks later.
“I’m glad that in a month and a half I won’t have to be afraid to enter a room. I will not have to be afraid to do chest compressions or be present when intubating a patient, “Beniquez said.” I no longer want to be afraid and I do not want to take that risk of taking him home to my own family and my own friends “.
The federal government plans hundreds more shipments over the weekend.
“We are starting the beat of the continued execution of the vaccine as it is available,” said Army General Gustave Perna, head of operations for the government’s Operation Warp Speed. “We pack and deliver. It’s a steady stream of vaccines available. “
Shootings for nursing home residents will not begin in most states until next week, when some 1,100 vaccine facilities have been set up. Perna and other officials reiterated their projection that 20 million Americans will be able to get their first shots by the end of December and another 30 million in January.
This projection involves a quick release of the Modern Vaccine, which also requires two shots for complete protection. The US government has bought 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and is asking for 200 million doses of Modern serum. If we do not delay production or distribution, it would be enough to vaccinate 150 million Americans by mid-2021.
Anywhere in the world, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is being administered in Britain and Canada. And European Union regulators presented a meeting to evaluate the vaccine until December 21, more than a week ahead of schedule, under pressure from Germany and other countries on the continent.
Examining the first results of a study of 30,000 people, the FDA found that Moderna’s vaccine worked almost the same as Pfizer-BioNTech’s.
The Modern vaccine was more than 94% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease and 86% in people 65 years of age or older. The FDA found no major safety issues. Side effects can include fever, fatigue, and pain as the vaccine boosts the immune system.
Even such an extensive study cannot detect very rare problems. But the FDA carefully looked for signs of allergic reactions after Britain last week reported some possible reactions among people with a history of severe allergies who were shot by Pfizer-BioNTech.
The FDA found no serious allergic reactions in the Modern study. Approximately 1.5% of vaccine recipients and 1.1% who received false shots reported possible minor “hypersensitivity” reactions.
Both the features of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are the so-called mRNA vaccines. They are not made with the coronavirus itself, that is, there is no chance that anyone can catch it from the prey.
Instead, the vaccine contains a piece of genetic code that trains the immune system to recognize the protein punctured on the surface of the virus.
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Associated Press writers Tamara Lush and Candice Choi contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.