Moderna Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine shipments began leaving warehouses early Sunday, heading to healthcare facilities in the United States in an effort to distribute the second approved coronavirus vaccine.
A statement from distributor McKesson Corp just after 0600 EST (1100 GMT) said it had begun shipping Moderna’s Covid-19 injections and auxiliary supply kits to administer the Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccine on Friday.
The distribution of Moderna’s vaccine to more than 3,700 locations in the United States will greatly expand the launch started last week by Pfizer Inc.The United States government plans to administer 5.9 million injections of Moderna and 2 million injections of Pfizer this week.
But an ambitious goal of getting 20 million Americans to start their first injection of the two-dose vaccine regimen by the end of the year could slide into the first week of January, Army Gen. Gustave Perna told reporters on Saturday. .
Moderna moved the vaccines from its manufacturing plants to warehouses operated by McKesson on Saturday to be packaged in containers and loaded onto trucks. Shipments will begin reaching healthcare providers starting Monday, Perna said.
Moderna’s vaccine vials were filled at the facility of pharmaceutical service provider Catalent Inc in Bloomington, Indiana. McKesson is shipping doses from facilities in places like Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis, Tennessee, near the air hubs of United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp.
The start of the delivery of the Moderna vaccine will significantly expand the availability of Covid-19 vaccines, as deaths in the United States caused by the respiratory disease reached more than 310,000 last week in the 11 months since the first cases documented in the United States. United.
Some states are choosing to use Moderna injections for harder-to-reach rural areas because they can be stored for 30 days in standard temperature refrigerators. Pfizers must be shipped and stored at -70 degrees Celsius (-94 F) and can be kept for only five days at standard refrigerator temperature.
Initial doses were administered to health professionals. The Walgreens and CVS pharmacy programs to distribute the Pfizer vaccine to long-term care facilities are expected to begin Monday.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will decide on Sunday who they will recommend to receive Covid-19 vaccines. The populations most considered include essential workers, those over 65 and people with pre-existing conditions.
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