The statement comes amid news of a promising development with the vaccine that Pfizer, a US company, is testing in stage 3 trials.
Rabat – Scientist Moncef Slaoui, the leader of the US’ Operation Warp Speed, said that most Americans could have access to a COVID-19 vaccine by spring 2021 if no delays occur.
Moncef Slaoui’s statement, quoted by ABC News, comes as the US welcomes Pfizer’s announcement of a promising development in its vaccine trials.
The company released a statement early Monday morning saying that in the early stages of phase 3 clinical trials, they found the vaccine to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19.
The company and its partner Biotech stated that their analysis included an evaluation of 94 confirmed COVID-19 carriers as participants in the clinical trials.
The Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, said that his company is a “step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis.”
Pfizer’s vaccine development is not part of Operation Warp Speed.
“The data certainly look encouraging,” Professor Paul Offit, a member of an independent committee that advises the FDA on vaccines, told ABC News.
The news outlet said that although the vaccine could be effective, the company should “demonstrate that the vaccine is not just effective but also safe.”
Pfizer intends to submit the vaccine to the FDA for authorization in late November.
The news outlet said it could take the FDA two weeks to a month to issue a decision.
The authorization process will include a public hearing and a recommendation from an independent vaccine advisory committee.
Outgoing President Donald Trump appointed Slaoui earlier this year, who vowed he will deliver a COVID-19 vaccine for all Americans.
He said recently that the US will prioritize elderly and vulnerable people before generalizing it to the public in the US.
Data show that the US has recorded 10.1 million COVID-19 cases, including 238,000 deaths. The country has broken new case records in the past week, exceeding 100,000 per day.
The availability of a COVID-19 vaccine would mean that countries with thousands of cases could also secure doses of the inoculation.
Across the world, nations have confirmed over 59.6 million COVID-19 cases, including 1.26 million deaths.
Morocco, with over 30,000 active COVID-19 cases, is also looking forward to securing doses of a vaccine.
Morocco has signed several agreements with international partners to enable the North African country to purchase doses of a vaccine once available.
Some of the companies are from China.
In October, Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani said that Morocco is negotiating with three more companies to acquire a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as one is available.
The North African country also acknowledged that the domestic outbreak is worrying.
As of November 9, Morocco reported 259,951 COVID-19 cases, including 4,356 deaths and 212,905 recoveries.
