Donald Trump says first vaccine will be administered ‘in less than 24 hours’

Moments after the United States granted emergency use approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, President Donald Trump said the first vaccine in the country will be administered “in less than 24 hours.”

“I’ve really good news. Today our nation has achieved a medical miracle,” Trump said in a video he posted on social media. 

“We’ve delivered a safe and effective vaccine in nine months,” Trump said before terming it as “one of the biggest scientific achievements in history.”

Trump spoke about the emergency use approval granted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the coronavirus shot developed by US firm Pfizer along with Germany’s BioNTech. 

On behalf of the American people, the President thanked “all of the brilliant scientists, technicians, doctors and workers, who made this all possible.”

He spoke about the efficacy of Pfizer’s vaccine and the one developed by the US pharmaceutical firm Moderna. He also spoke about Operation Warp Speed, under which his administration accelerated the development and production of the vaccines.

Also read: Pfizer, Moderna expected to rake in their highest ever revenues for COVID-19 vaccine

“The first vaccine will be administered in less than 24 hours,” Trump said.

The governors of the states would decide how the vaccines will be distributed and who’ll get them first, he said. 

“We want our senior citizens, healthcare workers and first responders to be first in line,” he added.

“The pandemic may have begun in China but we are ending right here in America,” the President asserted.

Mexico had also granted on Friday the emergency use authorisation to Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine.