US Plans to Ship 2.9 million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses By This Week

Operation Warp Speed’s chief operating officer said Wednesday that the federal government could distribute 2.9 million COVID-19 doses.

Specialist freezers await distribution of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines to the NHS from a secure location in Britain, in this undated handout obtained on Dec. 5, 2020. Public Health England/Handout via Reuters

Operation Warp Speed’s chief operating officer said Wednesday that the federal government could distribute 2.9 million COVID-19 doses by the end of this week should the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve Pfizer’s vaccine during its vaccine advisory committee meeting.

Gen. Gustave Perna told reporters that the distribution will begin immediately if FDA independent advisers recommend emergency use authorization (EUA) for the vaccine candidate developed by Pfizer and BioNTech this week.