Nearly 40,000 COVID-19 vaccines could be distributed to healthcare workers in Louisiana within the first week of the FDA approving their use, Gov. John Bel Edward told a White House panel Tuesday.
Edwards was among four governors the Trump administration invited to Washington, D.C., to discuss vaccine distribution plans given the quality of those plans.
The state's COVID-19 vaccine playbook spells out just who would get the vaccine first when it's approved.
Healthcare workers at hospitals would be followed by residents at nursing homes.
The three-phase plan aims for everyone else who wants a vaccine getting it by the summer of 2021 if no problems arise.
The FDA could approve the Pfizer vaccine as early as Thursday.
Dr. Joseph Kanter, ,interim assistant secretary of the state’s Office of Public Health, said things will move quickly whenever that happens.
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“From the time the FDA gives that authorization, we could realistically see people being vaccinated here within 24 to 48 hours,” he said.
The vaccine would quickly go to all corners of the state, to hospitals large and small.
“People -- really, frontline hospital and healthcare staff -- will begin to be vaccinated immediately,” Kanter said.
President Trump said he supports vaccination plans such as Louisiana’s that focus on healthcare workers and the elderly first.
“The ultimate decision rests with the governors of the various states, and I hope the governors make wise decisions about where the vaccines will go in their states and who will get them first,” he said.
Edwards said hospitals in the state have practiced for COVID vaccine distributions, and he hoped that practice will be put into play soon.