Workers wearing face masks at a Pfizer factory in Michigan began packing the first shipments of their Covid-19 vaccine on dry ice shortly after 6:30 a.m. ET (1130 GMT) Sunday. Three trucks carrying pallets of refrigerated vaccines in boxes left the Michigan central facility at 8:29 a.m., escorted by body-armored security officers in a pickup and van.
Pfizer vaccine shipments will launch the largest vaccination effort in US history at a critical juncture in the pandemic that has killed 1.6 million and infected 71 million worldwide.
Single process
In a novel process that should become a daily routine, workers removed cardboard boxes the size of a pizza box containing vials of vaccine from a freezer. They were placed in large blue coolers, before they were packaged and labeled, as shown in a network television video.
Workers clapped and whistled as the first boxes made their way to the trucks.
The long-awaited moment comes as the death toll approached 300,000 and infections and hospitalizations set daily records in the United States.
Federal officials say the first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine will be staggered, reaching 145 distribution centers Monday, with an additional 425 sites receiving shipments Tuesday and the remaining 66 on Wednesday. The vaccine, jointly developed by German partner BioNTech, is distributed based on the adult population of each state.
Although the federal government is coordinating distribution efforts, the states have the final decision on who receives the first injections. The federal government is sending the first shipments to more than 600 locations.
Companies from a variety of industries are lobbying state and federal officials to prioritize their workers in the line of millions waiting for the vaccine and a return to life free from fear of the deadly disease.
US regulators on Friday authorized the use of the vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech.
“We have spent months strategizing with Operation Warp Speed officials and our healthcare customers on efficient vaccine logistics, and now is the time to put the plan into action,” said Wes Wheeler, president of UPS Healthcare, Saturday.
Pfizer’s refrigerated dry ice packs can hold up to 4,875 doses, and the first leg of your journey will be from Kalamazoo to planes located nearby. The plane will move vaccine packages to United Parcel Service or FedEx air cargo centers in Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis, Tennessee, respectively.
From there, they will be trucked or flown to facilities near the 145 US sites destined to receive the first doses.
‘Moment of the basin’
Pennsylvania healthcare giant UPMC has chosen the staff who are critical to the operation of its facility from among those receiving the first round of vaccines, said Dr. Graham Snyder, who led the Vaccine Task Force of the center.
“It’s very exciting. I’ll be delighted, that moment when we administer our first dose,” Snyder said Saturday. “That will clearly be a defining moment for us.”
The Oschner Health System of 40 hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi expects to receive more than 9,000 doses in the coming days, said Dr. Sandra Kemmerly, medical director of hospital quality.
Employees approved for the first round receive text messages and emails telling them to schedule their initial injection, he said.
“I would say there is enthusiasm,” Kemmerly said Saturday. “There’s the idea that maybe they don’t have to be so scared to come to work if they can get vaccinated and be immune.”
The launch will ensure that there is enough vaccine to give people the two doses necessary for full protection against Covid-19. That means the government is withholding 3 million doses to give those vaccinated in the first round a second injection a few weeks later.
Distribution companies give vaccines the highest priority
Family UPS and FedEx package delivery drivers are giving the vaccine top priority over Christmas gifts and other packages. Many of the “suitcases” will be delivered into the hands of healthcare providers on Monday. Shipments are the first of three scheduled for this week.
Healthcare workers and the elderly living in long-term care homes are the first to receive vaccines.
Pfizer inoculations have the most stringent requirements for shipping and storage temperatures, minus 70 Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit).
Both companies are experienced in handling fragile medical products and leave little room for error. They provide temperature and location tracking to backup devices built into Pfizer boxes and track each shipment throughout its journey.
Plans to immunize 100 million by the end of the first quarter of 2021
Meanwhile, the US expects to vaccinate 100 million people by the end of the first quarter of 2021, the US’s top adviser for efforts on Covid-19 vaccines said on Sunday.
“We would have immunized 100 million people by the first quarter of 2021,” said Operation Warp Speed senior adviser Dr. Moncef Slaoui in an interview with Fox News Sunday.
He said the United States expects to have about 40 million doses of vaccine distributed by the end of December, and another 50 to 80 million distributed in January, and the same amount in February.
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