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This Monday in the United States, the distribution phase of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine formally began just three days ago, authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US government agency that deals with drugs. The United States is one of the first countries in the world to distribute and administer the vaccine, along with the United Kingdom and Canada: in recent days and in the coming weeks they will face some of the logistical challenges that the rest of Western countries should face in the middle of January, when example should start the massive administration in the European Union. At the moment almost everything is going well, but there are still several knots to untie.
Where how
Pfizer is shipping the vaccine in special packages of about 1,000 doses, equipped to maintain the temperature around -70 ° C needed for storage. Each package is equipped with dry ice and a GPS sensor that allows the distribution chain to know its exact position. The two shipping companies most involved are UPS and FedEx. The first deliveries were made Monday to 145 hospitals and other distribution points, while on Tuesday and Wednesday they are expected to reach another 425 and 66 respectively.
The only state that has experienced logistical difficulties so far has been Puerto Rico, an island located about 1,500 kilometers from the nearest US territory. Yesterday, local authorities received only 16,000 doses of the vaccine, less than half of the 32,500 that were due to arrive. The reason for the delay is unclear, but according to the New York Times the doses will arrive on Wednesday. Due to delays, the local government also had to postpone the first administration, which was intended to broadcast live on television.
Instead, the first national administration took place in a hospital in Queens, New York. The person who received the vaccine is Sandra Lindsay, a 52-year-old nurse who arrived from Jamaica about 30 years ago. Lindsay works as the head of the emergency nursing department at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Manhattan, where she oversees the work of hundreds of employees. The vaccination of Lindsay and other healthcare workers was purely symbolic: the mass administration should only start later.
The first person in the United States received the coronavirus vaccine. Registered Nurse Sandra Lindsay received the first of two doses of Pfizer in Queens, New York https://t.co/It8Yt2kozQ pic.twitter.com/93lf2JnDHi
– Bloomberg (@empresa) December 14, 2020
How many doses
The United States had reserved 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine before the summer, paying about $ 1.95 billion, when it was not yet clear whether it was safe and effective. Due to the steps involved in producing the vaccines, the doses will not be ready immediately: Associated Press He estimates that about 3 million doses will be delivered with the first shipments, enough for 1.5 million people (Pfizer’s vaccine needs a double dose administered three weeks apart to be effective).
Taking into account the availability of Pfizer and Moderna, the biotechnology company that is developing the vaccine considered most promising together with that of Pfizer, by January the country is expected to obtain the necessary doses to vaccinate no more than 22.5 million Americans, just under 7 percent of the total population. The percentage would drop even further if Moderna’s vaccine is not approved soon, which is currently taken for granted. Therefore, US authorities will have to quickly decide to whom to administer the few available doses.
Who will receive it
The guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the main federal agency that deals with public health, foresee three phases for the first weeks of administration: in the first, health personnel and the elderly will be vaccinated who live in the residences. elderly, in the second, workers in sectors considered essential (cashiers, public transport drivers, etc.), teachers and police, in the third, people with previous illnesses and healthy people over 65 years of age. Starting in February, everyone else should receive it.
All states are expected to abide by the CDC guidelines, even if they are not formally required to do so, but they will still have decisions to make: also because the vaccines available for January will not be enough for everyone in these groups. In the health sector alone, for example, around 21 million people work across the country: if all were vaccinated, only very few doses would be left for the others.
Some governors have already announced the criteria by which they will distribute the first doses. The Democratic Governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, explained that the first vaccines will be guaranteed for health workers who work in the counties with the worst mortality rates. The Kentucky man, also a Democrat, said he will be the first to vaccinate nursing home employees. Each state has designated a reference expert who in the coming days will have to present a vaccination plan in coordination with local authorities, especially to find environments conducive to mass administration.
People featured in each of the three bands in a Washington Post chart
Although the vaccination campaign began before almost the rest of the world, the situation in the United States continues to be very serious: between November and December the contagion curve had begun to decline but in recent days it has increased, so much so that the number of cases, deaths and hospitalized people is on the rise. Yesterday, then, the 300,000 deaths attributed to the coronavirus were exceeded, a figure much higher than that of the rest of the countries of the world.
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