With the health of the nation on the line, President Trump continues to take an “America First” approach towards foreign policy, with plans to sign a new executive order that will guarantee that all Americans will be provided with the COVID-19 vaccine access before offering aid to other nations.
The President is expected to sign the executive order at Tuesday’s White House vaccine summit, where leading drug manufacturers, distributors, and government officials will convene to discuss mass distribution and administration of the vaccines.
The summit comes ahead of the Food and Drug Administration’s Thursday committee meeting to determine if the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will be granted emergency authorization for use. The Moderna vaccine candidate’s application will be reviewed the following week on Dec. 17.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said the agency is “moving very quickly” to analyze the emergency use application data and is “very hopeful” the vaccine will gain approval, which could reportedly be as soon as Friday.
According to the CDC, national immunization priority will go to high-risk frontline healthcare workers and nursing home residents, followed by essential workers, people with medical conditions, and then older adults. According to infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, “the ordinary citizen” is expected to gain inoculation access by Spring of 2021.
Although Trump’s executive order is intended to ensure the health of the nation, it is also expected to provide the framework for international vaccine aid.
The order is said to outline “three primary approaches” to assisting other countries. The government will work with well-off allies to acquire effective vaccines, likely by utilizing the partnerships formed with pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors through the Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed.
Nations that are less financially secure will be aided by the government “leveraging resources” to help them acquire a vaccine and the necessary administering and tracking supplies. Low-income countries will be aided through a donation of resources to USAID and the Gavi vaccine alliance.
International assistance is reportedly expected to begin in the late spring or early summer months of 2021, though that timetable is subject to change depending on the emergence of additional vaccine candidates.
Operation Warp Speed provided government funding for four other vaccines, including current front runner, AstraZeneca’s, which announced results for effective coronavirus prevention at the end of November, along with candidates still in clinical trials from Novavax, Merck, and Sanofi.
To find out more about the vaccines, how they work, and the side effects, take a look at Everything You Need to Know About the Covid-19 Vaccines.
