Noon Edition airs on Fridays at noon on WFIU.

Two vaccine trials have reported more than 90 percent efficacy, which beats the 50 percent standard set by the FDA.

Drug manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna are waiting on authorization of their vaccines. State health department officials say they expect their first shipments of the vaccines to come mid-December. 

State and local health officials say getting the vaccine to healthcare providers will be their first priority.

The size of initial shipments will determine who gets vaccinated. Government projections estimate Pfizer and Moderna could provide enough vaccines for 20 million people by the end of the month.

AstraZeneca, which is running trials for its vaccine now, has said the first 4 million doses of its vaccine could be out this month.

The FDA is using an expedited process to approve vaccines on an emergency basis. This means less data is required from trials, in hopes of getting a vaccine to the public more quickly.

This week, we’re talking with health and medical experts about vaccine trials and rollout plans.

You can follow us on Twitter @NoonEdition or join us on the air by calling in at 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send us questions for the show at news@indianapublicmedia.org.

Guests

Penny Caudill, Monroe County Health Department administrator

Carol Weiss-Kennedy, IU Health Bloomington director of community health 

Dr. Cynthia Brown, IU School of Medicine, associate professor of clinical medicine