Pfizer vaccine is now licensed in the U.S. and will begin to be administered within the next 24 hours

BarcelonaThe United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the body that regulates the marketing of drugs, has authorized this morning (on Catalan time) the use of the covid-19 vaccine from the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

This has been announced in a video by the president, Donald Trump, who has assured that the first doses of the vaccine will begin to be administered in the next 24 hours.

The FDA signed this emergency authorization - an exceptional pre-approval procedure - hours after the White House warned agency director Stephen Hahn that he could prepare his resignation letter if he did not process it today.

In a statement, Hahn said that "today's decision follows an open and transparent review process that has included input from independent scientists and public health experts, as well as a thorough evaluation by the agency's scientific professionals".

Proud Trump

On the same night that the Supreme Court dashed the outgoing president's last hopes of reversing the outcome of the presidential election, he scored a victory by authorizing the vaccine to which he had devoted so much effort.

"Through our partnership with Fedex and UPS, we have already begun shipping the vaccine to every state and zip code in the country; the first vaccine will be administered in less than 24 hours", Trump announced in a solemn speech from the Oval Office.

Trump explained that "the governors will decide where the vaccines will go in their states and who will receive them first". "We want our grandparents and health and emergency workers to be the first. This will quickly and dramatically reduce deaths and hospitalizations", he added.

"When the virus in China invaded our shores, I promised that we would produce a vaccine in record time before the end of the year; they said it could not be done, but with today's announcement we have achieved this goal", he said.