As the nation anxiously awaits news of federal approval of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, on Friday morning Alex M. Azar II, Secretary of Health and Human Services told reporters that the FDA will move forward with approval.

Azar shared the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) intentions to grant emergency use authorization to Pfizer during an interview with Good Morning America.

HHS Sec. Azar tells @GStephanopoulos, "We’re looking at 20 million Americans being vaccinated just in the next coming weeks. Up to 50 million total by the end of January..." https://t.co/v1dsjMAvCK pic.twitter.com/xPsZZC9rjP

— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 11, 2020

"We could see people getting vaccinated Monday, Tuesday of next week," Azar said Friday.

The FDA also released a statement Friday saying "it will rapidly work toward finalization and issuance of an emergency use authorization" following Thursday's endorsement from its advisory panel.

The announcement from Azar, though not an official green light, is a beacon of hope during a dark time for the US.

States across the nation are limiting citizen's activities in an effort to curb a deadly resurgence of the virus.

According to The Associated Press, on Wednesday, Dec. 9, COVID-19 claimed the lives of more than 3,000 individuals in America in a single day, and one million new cases were diagnosed in the span of five days.