(WAND) - A COVID-19 vaccine may be available sooner than people might have thought.
During a press conference on Tuesday, HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced that we could see the distribution of the vaccine shortly after Dec. 10.
On that date, the FDA Advisory Committee will meet to discuss the Pfizer vaccine candidate.
Azar also shared that the department's transition official is now in contact with President-elect Joe Biden's transition team.
"If all goes well, we could be distributing a vaccine soon after Dec. 10," Azar said. "As General Perna has shared, we believe we can distribute the vaccine to all 64 jurisdictions within 24 hours of FDA authorization. Then, we hope the administration can begin as soon as the product arrives. One of the private sector partners we've enlisted, CVS Health, has said that they expect to be vaccinating residents of nursing homes, one of the top priority groups, within 48 hours after FDA authorization."
According to General Gustave Perna, the states received vaccine allocation numbers last Friday and six million doses are expected in the first shipment.
"That amount that we allocated to the country was 6.4 million doses of vaccine," Perna said. "And then, what will happen if there's more available after the initial push, then it will go out in the following weekly cadences of distribution accordingly. But, yes, 40 million by the end of the year."
With confidence, officials can say there is light at the end of the tunnel.
"We have an end in sight, and we have much happier holidays in the near future," Azar said. "The American people can be confident that hope and help are on the way."
