[ad_1]
Millions of doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed to more than 3,700 locations in the United States starting Sunday, the head of the country’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan said, urging Americans to continue to follow public health guidelines.
At a news conference Saturday morning, Operation Warp Speed CEO Gustave Perna said Moderna has moved the vaccines from its manufacturing sites to distribution sites.
“America, we are ready to distribute that vaccine,” Perna told reporters. “The boxes are packed and loaded today; the trucks will start rolling out tomorrow.”
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the Moderna vaccine for emergency use nationwide on Friday night, the second COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in the US. the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved last week.
US officials have said they intend to distribute 5.9 million doses of Moderna in the initial shipment, which will first be administered to healthcare workers and residents of long-term care homes across the country.
Perna said he expects to distribute 7.9 million doses of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines in the next week.
“[The] Moderna vaccine can be shipped and stored at standard freezing temperatures and is packaged in containers of 100 doses each, “he said, adding that this gives US states greater” flexibility to support hard-to-reach areas, smaller and more rural ”.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine must be kept at ultra-low temperatures, which means that states and cities must have the necessary infrastructure to store it.
Confusion, frustration
US media reported this week that several states, including Michigan, Oregon and Illinois, said they were informed by the federal government that they would receive fewer doses of Pfizer-BioNTech than expected next week.
That created confusion and frustration, as state governments hoping vaccines would help them control the growing pandemic said they would be forced to adjust their vaccination plans.
Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said Thursday afternoon that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had informed him that vaccine allocation would be cut by 40 percent. next week. “This is disturbing and frustrating,” he tweeted.
.@CDCgov has informed us that WA’s vaccine allocation will be reduced by 40 percent next week, and that all states are experiencing similar cuts.
This is disturbing and frustrating. We need accurate and predictable numbers to plan and ensure success on the ground.
No explanation was given.
– Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) December 17, 2020
Pfizer said in a statement Thursday that it had successfully shipped 2.9 million doses ordered by the US government and that it was not experiencing production problems. No vaccine shipment orders were held or delayed, the company added.
“We have millions more doses in our warehouse but, as of now, we have not received any shipping instructions for additional doses,” he said.
Perna said Saturday that he took personal responsibility for the confusion, saying it was a “planning error” and that he was forced to change the predicted allocation numbers to meet the actual number of releasable vaccine doses available.
“It was my fault. I gave him guidance. I was the one who approved the forecast sheets. I was the one who approved the assignments,” he said.
“There is no problem with the process. There is no problem with the Pfizer vaccine. There is no problem with the Moderna vaccine. It was a planning error and I am responsible. “
Building confidence in vaccines
While the launch of the vaccine in the US has been widely welcomed, it will be time before most Americans are vaccinated, and public health experts are urging people to follow public health directives. and be cautious.
Since the pandemic began, officials in some parts of the country have been reluctant to implement lockdown measures, while in others some residents have refused to comply with social distancing and mask-wearing mandates.
The United States has seen record numbers of COVID-19 cases and staggering hospitalization rates in recent weeks.
It has recorded more than 17.5 million infections and more than 314,000 deaths related to the new coronavirus since the crisis began, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, the highest totals in the world.
Senior US officials are now trying to build confidence in COVID-19 vaccines too, amid reluctance and fears in some communities. Vice President Mike Pence publicly received a vaccine on Friday, and US President-elect Joe Biden is expected to be vaccinated on Monday.
[ad_2]
