(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc’s and Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine candidates could be ready for U.S. authorization and distribution within weeks, setting the stage for widespread inoculation to begin as soon as this year, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said during a press call on Wednesday.
Officials said that states and territories are prepared to begin distributing the vaccines within 24 hours of receiving regulatory authorization and that complex cold storage requirements will not be an impediment to all Americans being able to access the vaccines.
(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
