In the United States, an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to vote today on whether to recommend emergency use authorization of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. If approved, Moderna expects to ship enough doses for about 3 million Americans in the coming days.
This comes as the FDA says it will allow healthcare workers to squeeze extra doses of Pfizer’s new coronavirus vaccine out of vials, after shipments contained more vaccine than pharmacists were expecting. The unexpected windfall could boost the number of available doses by up to 40%.
Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence say they will publicly receive a shot of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday. President-elect Biden says he plans to get a shot, too, as early as next week. The White House said President Trump would not get vaccinated until it’s recommended by his medical team.