Truly, 2020 has been one of the creepiest years in the annals of human history.
Therefore, it seems most fitting that we may see an end to one of the most chilling events this year in time for Halloween.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified states to be ready to possibly distribute a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as late October.The agency sent letters to state officials last week, reported The New York Times, which viewed the documents. The CDC confirmed the advisory to CNN on Wednesday.The CDC warned states that initial supplies of the vaccine “may be constrained.” The documents spell out that certain groups should be prioritized to receive a vaccine, including healthcare and essential workers, long-term care facility residents and staffers, and national security populations.
So far, the testing phase has produced promising results.
Neal Browning volunteered for a clinical trial. In March, he became the second person in the world to get the Moderna coronavirus vaccine.“[I’m feeling] completely fine, just normal like nothing even happened,” said Browning.He said all 45 people in his test group produced antibodies similar to those seen in people who’ve recovered from COVID-19, but he worries a two-month vaccine timeline is too aggressive.
An advisory committee from the Food and Drug Administration committee will meet Oct. 22 to discuss the status of the vaccine status, as well as authorization and licensing of vaccines to prevent Covid-19.
The CDC also provided documents to states outlining some of the most detailed descriptions to date of a vaccine rollout plan.The agency said vaccines would either be approved as licensed vaccines or under emergency-use authorization and would likely need to be administered twice.“Vaccine and ancillary supplies will be procured and distributed by the federal government at no cost to enrolled Covid-19 vaccination providers,” the documents state.They also state that jurisdictions must be prepared to immediately vaccinate identified critical populations when the earliest Covid-19 vaccine doses are available.A screening tool on the CDC website will help individuals determine their eligibility for a vaccine and direct them to a vaccine finder.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the biggest publicity-hound on President Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force, said clinical trials on a coronavirus vaccine could be stopped early if they provide positive results that show it is safe and effective.
In an interview with Kaiser Health News published Tuesday, Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said a Data and Safety Monitoring Board, which is composed of research experts that review data from clinical trials, has the power to end the trials early.The independent board, Fauci said, could decide “the data is so good right now that you can say it’s safe and effective.” If the clinical trials were to produce results that are overwhelmingly positive, scientists would have a “moral obligation” to stop the trial early and make the vaccine available to all participants in the study, speeding up the process to make it more widely available.
If Operation Warp Speed hits its late October goal, it will be a Halloween miracle. It will also be the biggest “October Surprise” in the history of U.S. presidential elections.
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