A COVID-19 vaccine could be approved and available before the end of the year, but supply constrictions and phased rollouts mean immunizing the state will be a slow process stretching into next year, Pennsylvania’s top health official said Thursday.
“A lot will depend on exactly how much vaccine we get, which will determine how many people we can vaccinate,” Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said.
Levine said all indications from pharmaceutical companies and the federal government point toward Pfizer’s vaccine receiving federal approval in December and Moderna following in late December or early January.
“If the federal approval process remains on track, we could have a vaccine within the next month,” she said. “However, we do not know how quickly the vaccine supply will meet the demand for it.”