People in the US could have access to their first two vaccines against the coronavirus before Christmas, Health Secretary Alex Azar says.
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The Food and Drug Administration's outside advisers will meet on December 10 to consider authorising Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine.
That vaccine could be approved and shipped within days, with Moderna's following one week behind that, Azar said.
"So we could be seeing both of these vaccines out and getting into people's arms before Christmas," Azar said on CBS.
Azar said the US federal government will ship the vaccines through its normal vaccine distribution system, with state governors determining where they should go first.
"They will be determining which groups to be prioritised. I would hope that the science and the evidence will be clear enough that our governors will follow the recommendations that we will make to them," Azar said.
He said he and Vice President Mike Pence will speak to all the country's governors later on Monday to discuss the vaccines and which groups of people should be prioritised to get them first.
Australian Associated Press
