U.S. vaccine program head says first Americans could be vaccinated on December 11: CNN

FILE PHOTO: Trial kits for Pfizer coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination study are seen at the Research Centers of America, in Hollywood, Florida, U.S., September 24, 2020. REUTERS/Marco Bello

U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program head Moncef Slaoui said the first Americans to receive a coronavirus vaccine could get it as soon as Dec. 11, CNN reported on Sunday.

"Our plan is to be able to ship vaccines to the immunization sites within 24 hours from the approval, so I expect maybe on day two after approval on the 11th or the 12th of December," he said (https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-11-22-20-intl/h_64000007df71a4acd98c40f22818fa09) in an interview to CNN.

FILE PHOTO: Former GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical executive Moncef Slaoui, who will serve as chief adviser on the effort to find a vaccine for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, listens while wearing a protective face mask as President Donald Trump holds a coronavirus disease vaccine event in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

(This story has been refiled to fix typographical error)

(Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski)