The U.S. is starting to distribute Regeneron, the antibody combination that was instrumental in President Trump’s COVID-19 recovery.
30,000 courses are set for distribution Tuesday.
The Food and Drug Administration is also taking steps to approve two coronavirus vaccines. It’s planned multiple meetings with the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee.
A meeting focusing on Pfizer’s application for emergency use of its vaccine is on Dec. 10. The hope is health workers can start administering the Pfizer vaccine by the middle of December.
Moderna is still waiting on some more data, but says it could apply for emergency authorization as early as next week. Meetings to discuss Moderna’s vaccine are expected for Dec. 17 and 18.
Both companies claim their vaccines are about 95% effective.
And British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca says its vaccine is showing 90% effectiveness. It’s unclear when that company will apply for approval.
Doctors in Northern Michigan say it will still be several months before a vaccine is widely available, but discussions about distributing it are already happening.
“There’s actually been conversations ongoing with the state and the state with CDC for a few months now, they’ve been talking since the summer knowing that this was coming and how things were going to happen.”
Doctors say until a vaccine becomes widely available, things like masks and social distancing are some of the best tools to fight the spread of the coronavirus.
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