HUNDREDS of hospitals around the US are dispensing Covid-19 shots to their workers.
The vaccine comes as the death toll from the coronavirus surpassed more than 300,000 in the country.
What are the ingredients of the Pfizer vaccine?
The ingredients are as following:
- mRNA
- Lipids
- Potassium chloride
- Monobasic potassium phosphate
- Sodium chloride
- Dibasic sodium phosphate dehydrate
- Sucrose
The messenger RNA (mRNA) is a critical part of the vaccine.
“mRNA vaccines are a new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases,” the CDC writes.
“To trigger an immune response, many vaccines put a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies. Not mRNA vaccines.
“Instead, they teach our cells how to make a protein – or even just a piece of a protein – that triggers an immune response inside our bodies.
“That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for emergency use a day after a panel of scientists and medical experts gave the jab the OK.
“The vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweigh it’s known and potential risks,” said FDA Biologics Director Dr Peter Marks.
How long will we need to wear masks?
Dr Anthony Fauci has told Americans to keep their masks on until the end of 2021, despite the vaccine’s arrival.
The country’s top infectious disease expert doctor spoke of the warnings to the public during a talk with the Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual health event.
He said: “I don’t believe we’re going to be able to throw the masks away and forget about physical separation in congregate settings for a while, probably likely until we get into the late fall and early next winter. But I think we can do it.”
Fauci is set to get the vaccine live on TV in hopes of improving public confidence.
Dr Fauci, 79, is considered high risk for the coronavirus because of his age, which is why the prime candidate is set to receive the vaccine ahead of the general population.
Earlier this month, Fauci warned Americans against the health risks travel will impose should citizens choose to travel and see loved ones.
‘I think they’re going to have to make individual decisions, but I think we need to, as a nation, seriously consider the things that we in the public health arena have been talking about, of minimizing travel to the extent possible,” Fauci said.
When is the Moderna vaccine arriving in the US?
Moderna’s “highly effective” coronavirus shot could be the second Covid vaccine released across the US within days.
The vaccine won a key FDA endorsement, paving the way toward an official emergency use authorization (EUA) as soon as this week.
“[The] FDA has determined that the Sponsor [Moderna] has provided adequate information to ensure the vaccine’s quality and consistency for authorization of the product under an EUA,” an agency document read.
The agency’s vaccine panel is set to meet on December 17 to review Moderna’s product.
The same panel recommended Pfizer’s vaccine to the FDA, and an official EUA was signed within 24 hours.
The FDA’s analysis of Moderna’s study found the most common side effects included injection-site pain, fatigue, headache and chills.
The US plans to ship just under six million doses of Moderna vaccine once the FDA approves emergency use.
“It will be a very similar cadence that was executed this week with Pfizer, where we’re hitting initial sites on Monday, follow on Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Gustave Perna, chief operating officer of the White House’s Operation Warp Speed program.
