Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday that Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca could send studies of their COVID-19 vaccines to the feds for approval within “weeks.”
“I would imagine within a period of a week or so, or at the most, a couple of weeks — they’re going to be getting their data together and showing it to the FDA,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said on “Meet the Press.”
“And, they’re going to have to get their data and safety monitoring board to look at it to see if it is appropriate to start, you know, essentially putting the package together to get an emergency use authorization. But we’re weeks away, not months away, for sure.”
If the data shows the shots are safe and effective, the vaccines would be the third and fourth to seek emergency use authorization in the nation.
The FDA has already authorized shots from Pfizer and Moderna, which have both been distributed across the US.
If there are more options added to the roster, the country could speed up the process to vaccinate everyone who wants the shot.
Johnson & Johnson has already said that its one-dose shot generated a long-lasting immune response — with antibodies sticking around for at least 71 days in more than 90 percent of the participants.
Meanwhile, the AstraZeneca vaccine has already been cleared for emergency use in the United Kingdom after trials showed that it was 70.4 percent effective.