COVID-19 vaccines won't stop holiday surge, experts say

(NBC News) There are now two COVID-19 vaccines awaiting emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.

Both Pfizer and Moderna have submitted their vaccines as part of a process that could take weeks.

If either is approved, widespread distribution of the medicine is still months away.

That’s too late to prevent what many fear may be a holiday spike in infections.

“Right now the health care system is cracking right here in the United States, we just don’t have much capacity,” says Dr. Jeff Pothof, Chief Quality Officer for University of Wisconsin Health. “You know the water is leaking in and if we see a new huge surge after the holiday, that spells trouble for us.”