Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a recent public briefing that at least one vaccine for the novel coronavirus will be available at the end of 2020. But the general public might not receive it until spring 2021.
- “There is hope on the way in the form of safe and effective vaccines in a matter of weeks or months,” said Azar, speaking in Atlanta at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to USA Today.
Azar laid out a small timeline for how the coronavirus would be distributed and when it would happen. It’s a little different than the previous timeline from the government, which suggested a vaccine could be ready by the middle of November.
- “We expect that we would have by end of this year enough vaccine that is FDA-authorized to be able to vaccinate the most vulnerable individuals,” he said, according to USA Today. “Then, by end of January, we’d expect we’d have enough to vaccinate all seniors, as well as our health care workers and first responders.
More danger to come:
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, told CNBC Monday that the United States isn’t through the worst of the pandemic yet, which I wrote about for Deseret News.
- “It’s going to be a difficult fall and winter,” he said. “I think we’re about two or three weeks behind Europe — so we’re about a week away from starting to enter a period where we’re going to see a rapid acceleration in cases.”
What you can do:
Fox News reports that Azar suggested Americans should follow the “three Ws” before the vaccine is available, including:
- Wash your hands.
- Watch your distance.
- Wear a face mask.