U.S. to test run Covid vaccine distribution networks as it awaits FDA clearance in ‘just a few weeks’

The U.S. federal government is conducting a practice run this week of its coronavirus vaccine distribution networks with some test shipments as the drugs await emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in “just a few weeks.”

The dry run is part of a series of field exercises under the Trump administration’s vaccine program Operation Warp Speed, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters during a press briefing Tuesday. The shipments, which won’t contain the actual vaccine vials, will test the systems used by state health departments to order vaccine doses to “ensure that all goes smoothly,” Azar said.

Pfizer, which is developing its vaccine with BioNTech, applied for emergency use authorization from the FDA on Friday. The FDA is expected to review Pfizer’s vaccine when its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee next meets on Dec. 10. Moderna is expected to submit their application in the coming days so both vaccines could potentially get reviewed at the same time.

“If all goes well, we could be distributing vaccine soon after December 10,” Azar said. “We believe we can distribute vaccine to all 64 jurisdictions within 24 hours of FDA authorization. Then we hope administration can begin as soon as the product arrives.”

The U.S. is aiming to deliver 40 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine by the end of the year. Initial doses would be prioritized for health-care workers and people most vulnerable to serious disease. Last week, Pfizer announced that it had selected four states — Texas, New Mexico, Tennessee and Rhode Island — to operate a pilot delivery program designed to work out kinks in the company’s distribution system.

As part of the program, the company will ship vials filled with saline solution before it starts shipping the actual vaccine, said Pfizer spokeswoman Kim Bencker.

“We’re working on this constantly,” said Gen. Gustave Perna, who is leading the federal government’s effort to distribute the vaccines. “We work rehearsals of different scenarios to make sure we’re capturing all the nuances of the delivery, but each and every week we get stronger. It’s not lost on anybody listening, we’re one week closer to distributing the vaccine.”

CNBC’s Will Feuer and Berkeley Lovelace contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.