The American pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that it is ready to start shipping its coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine and awaits receiving authorization from the U.S. authorities to do so.
“We are ready to begin shipping the initial doses after receiving the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization,” the corporation told Sky News Arabia on Tuesday.
On the same day, Pfizer got closer to getting its vaccine approved for emergency use after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released documents indicating that the vaccine’s data met its expectation for emergency use authorization.
Outside experts to the FDA will hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to recommend the Pfizer vaccine for people aged 16 and older.
Although it’s unclear how long it will take for the FDA to give the authorization, American states are already preparing for mid-December deliveries, Reuters reported.
Pfizer confirmed Tuesday that the U.S. government has reserved 100 million doses of the 2-dose vaccine to start with – enough for 50 million Americans.
“Manufacturing teams are working around the clock to get the vaccine to the world quickly and equitably,” the corporation told Sky News Arabia.
Lebanon, which has already reserved 2 million shots of the Pfizer vaccine, expects to receive its shares in February of 2021.
The vaccine has been determined to be 95% effective against the virus that causes COVID-19.
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