Thousands of vials of the long-awaited Covid-19 vaccine are slated to arrive in all 50 states Monday, as top US health officials express hope that health care workers can begin administering the injections immediately. The news comes after the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine cleared its final hurdle: Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accepted an advisory committee’s recommendation Saturday that the vaccine may be given to people 16 and older, meaning it can now be administered in the United States. In a statement issued Sunday, Redfield announced he had accepted the recommendation from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The first vaccinations are “set to start as early as Monday,” he said.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was reversing an administration directive to vaccinate top government officials against COVID-19, while public distribution of the shot is limited to front-line health workers and people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Trump made the announcement hours after his administration confirmed that senior U.S. officials, including some White House aides who work in close proximity to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, would be offered coronavirus vaccines as soon as this week under federal continuity of government plans. “People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary,” Trump said in a tweet. “I have asked that this adjustment be made. I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time.” It was not immediately clear what the scale of the
vaccination program was supposed to be, according to two people briefed on the matter, or what effect Trump’s tweet would have on the government’s efforts to protect top leadership. News that White House staff would receive the vaccine early drew criticism on social media.
Source: CBS Radio News