Trump Holds Coronavirus Vaccine Summit, Signs Order to Prioritize Americans as Vaccine Nears Authorization

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to give emergency approval to a COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine as early as the end of the week. The White House will provide an update Tuesday on the Trump administration's vaccine plan, two days before the FDA advisory committee meets to review Pfizer and BioNTech's application for emergency authorization of their vaccine. The committee will meet again Dec. 17 to review Moderna's emergency request for its vaccine; distribution is expected to start within 24 hours of authorization. The White House has reportedly purchased 100 million doses from Pfizer; the New York Times reported Monday that Pfizer told the White House it cannot provide additional doses of the vaccine until June or July because other countries have bought up its supply. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday instructing the government to prioritize giving Americans coronavirus vaccines before offering vaccine aid to foreign nations. The imminent vaccine authorization was covered by outlets across the spectrum. Trump's America-first vaccine order was covered widely by right-rated news outlets; left-and center-rated outlets tended to highlight Moderna and Pfizer's decision to skip the White House's vaccine announcement event.