COVID-19: Pfizer vaccine would be free to all Americans, says President Trump after US FDA approval

President Donald Trump on Saturday (December 12) said that the US will start rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine "in less than 24 hours."

A day after the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) granted an emergency use authorization to Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, President Donald Trump on Saturday (December 12) said that the US will start rolling out the vaccine "in less than 24 hours."

"The first vaccine will be administered in less than 24 hours," Trump said in a televised address released on Twitter.

President Trump also asserted that he had "made sure that this vaccine would be free to all Americans." He added that the government has already started sending the Pfizer vaccine to every state in the country through different modes of transportation.

pic.twitter.com/ofLq3OMicv — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2020

According to Trump, it will be decided by the governors who would receive the shots first in their states.

"We want our senior citizens, health care workers and first responders to be first in line," said Trump, adding, "This will quickly and dramatically reduce deaths and hospitalizations."

On Friday, the US FDA authorized Pfizer`s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use on Friday for the prevention of coronavirus disease in individuals 16 years of age and older. 

"The FDA`s authorization for emergency use of the first COVID-19 vaccine is a significant milestone in battling this devastating pandemic that has affected so many families in the United States and around the world," said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, MD.

"This action follows an open and transparent review process that included input from independent scientific and public health experts and a thorough evaluation by the agency`s career scientists to ensure this vaccine met FDA`s rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization", he added.