A third COVID-19 vaccine could be approved by the FBI as early as January, a senior federal health official said Sunday.
“The next vaccine on the way would be J&J [Johnson & Johnson] or Janssen. We expect that authorization to be filed in January, ”Admiral Brett Giroir, who is part of the White House’s COVID-19 task force, told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos about“ This Week ”. said.
‘We don’t know the results. But we are very hopeful that we will have at least three vaccines by January, with more to come. “
Giroir, an assistant secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services, said a vaccine may be available in the US to “anyone” who wants one in June.
“We are confident that by June everyone in America who wants to get a vaccine will have the chance to get one,” he said.
Giroir said that even without a third vaccine, the country is on track to distribute 20 million vaccine doses distributed by at least the first week of January, with shots from both Pfizer and Moderna getting emergency use clearance.
About 30 million additional doses are expected for the remainder of January and another 50 million in February, Giroir said.
But Giroir stressed that Americans must still adhere to public health recommendations – such as wearing a mask – despite the promise of help on the horizon.
“The most important thing Americans need to know is that while we see the end of the pandemic in sight – and it will end with widespread vaccination in this country – we have a lot of work to do,” Giroir said.
“Really, the lives of tens of thousands of Americans depend on what we do.”