3 September 2020 - Azar said the deadline was made by Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and other “career people” at the agency.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar insisted Thursday that the Government’s 1 November deadline for states to set up coronavirus vaccine distribution sites has nothing to do with the presidential election two days later.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked governors and health departments to prepare to distribute a vaccine as soon as November. In a letter dated 27 August, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said states will soon receive permit applications from medical supply company McKesson, which HHS tapped to help distribute the vaccine. He said they may need to waive some licensing and permit requirements that could delay the process.

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