OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) – While nothing has been approved by the FDA quite yet, there is optimism that a number of promising vaccines will help drive the COVID-19 pandemic into the ground.
“We won’t be ending COVID, but it will be very likely ending the pandemic,” said Winnebago County Health Officer Doug Gieryn.
As soon as there is emergency use authorization granted from the FDA, which is expected later this month, Gieryn predicts the vaccines from companies like Pfizer and Moderna will begin rolling out right away. Pfizer may be the only one to actually become available by the end of 2020.
The first phase of vaccination rollout, Gieryn says, is called Phase 1A. That’s where a very limited amount of available vaccine is released.
“Somewhere in the order of 10-20 million doses. That’s not enough to cover those high priority groups across the United States when we have a population of over 330 million,” Gieryn pointed out.
As for when everyone else can get it, that might take a bit longer. That means a shift to ‘normal’ may not begin until the latter half of 2021.
“We’re going to have to be patient. We’re going to need to keep going with the masking and distancing for a number of months. We’re not going to have vaccines for the masses, so to speak, really until probably the second quarter or summer of next year, where we can vaccinate very large numbers of people,” Gieryn said.
While the smaller and less at-risk communities wait, many health departments across the country are preparing larger, more efficient vaccine distribution infrastructure. That will allow more people to be vaccinated faster, with hopes of knocking out the pandemic sooner, rather than later.
Meanwhile, Gieryn says there are about a dozen other vaccines that are currently in Phase 2 or Phase 3. There are about nine vaccines in Phase 3 testing, including the known Pfizer and Moderna products.
“They’re being tested right now with tens of thousands of people. They’re administered out, people either get a vaccine or get a placebo, they’re not told what, and that’s how these vaccines are being tested,” Gieryn said. “The FDA is extremely serious about vaccine safety. We have probably the safest vaccines available. There are a couple of vaccines worldwide that have been approved already, but they likely would not meet the requirements the FDA has for safety.”
However, despite the in-depth testing of clinical trials and the approval process, there remains a percentage of the population that will remain suspect and suspicious of any vaccine. Gieryn says that’s expected, but expressed his confidence in the processes in place – and the safety procedures required for any vaccine approval.
“Our goal will be to vaccinate everyone that will take that vaccine,” Gieryn told WTAQ News. “We’re gonna need 7 or 8 out of every 10 people probably at the end of this to really have a meaningful slow down of the virus.”
The FDA has scheduled public meetings for December 10th and December 17th to review each vaccine. Decisions on whether to grant their use are expected before the end of the year.
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