The Food and Drug Administration provided a rare glimmer of hope under the coronavirus pandemic as it approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use.
In a historic and unprecedented rate, the Trump administration successfully produced a coronavirus vaccine and Americans are one step closer to being able to receive the vaccination, should they wish to do so.
“The first doses of the vaccine, deemed safe and effective enough for public use on Thursday by a panel of infectious disease experts, will be shipped out within 24 hours. The first shots could be administered as soon as Monday or Tuesday of next week, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar,” the Washington Examiner reported on Friday evening.
The Pfizer vaccine was initially announced weeks ago with a 95 percent efficiency rate in preventing adults from contracting the coronavirus.
President Trump announced the decision over Twitter, applauding his administration’s efforts.
“FDA APPROVES PFIZER VACCINE FOR EMERGENCY USE!!!” he said in all caps.
FDA APPROVES PFIZER VACCINE FOR EMERGENCY USE!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2020
In another tweet, Trump called the vaccine “one of the greatest and fastest medical miracles in modern-day history.”
“Donald Trump must get the credit for the vaccines. It is a miracle.” @Varneyco
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2020
The Swine Flu (H1N1), and the attempt for a vaccine by the Obama Administration, with Joe Biden in charge, was a complete and total disaster. Now they want to come in and take over one of the “greatest and fastest medical miracles in modern day history.” I don’t think so!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2020
While my pushing the money drenched but heavily bureaucratic @US_FDA saved five years in the approval of NUMEROUS great new vaccines, it is still a big, old, slow turtle. Get the dam vaccines out NOW, Dr. Hahn @SteveFDA. Stop playing games and start saving lives!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2020
The vaccine is unique in that it “uses technology that has never been approved before for public use in the United States.”
The Washington Examiner reports the new vaccine uses “Messenger RNA, mRNA for short, [which] tweaks the body’s genetic code to teach it to build the same spike protein as the one on top of the actual coronavirus. This triggers the immune response that protects against the virus and its resulting disease, known as COVID-19.”
Thank you President Trump. I do applaud you and appreciate what you did to make this happen.
— Steve Thompson (@BaldEagle361) December 12, 2020
The report adds:
The U.S. government has secured 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, enough to inoculate 50 million of the most vulnerable people, starting with healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents and staff in Phase 1a. Essential workers, such as police, grocery store employees, and teachers and school staff, will be eligible as part of Phase 1b. In Phase 1c, seniors over 65 and people with high-risk health conditions, such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cancer, and sickle cell disease, will be eligible for a vaccine.
The news comes at the tail end of the deadliest week of the pandemic recorded so far, with roughly 2,332 new daily deaths on average over the past seven days. That surpasses the previous record in mid-April, when the average daily deaths in a week reached 2,116. Hospitalizations related to COVID-19 have also hit an all-time high over the past week, with an average of about 103,000 new patients admitted every day.