Rollout of Pfizer COVID Vaccine Begins in U.S.

By Ernie Mundell and Robin Foster HealthDay Reporters

MONDAY, Dec. 14, 2020

The first shipments of almost 3 million doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine have been on their strategy to hospitals in all 50 U.S. states on Sunday, because the nation started an unprecedented effort to inoculate sufficient Americans to cease the unfold of COVID-19.

Gen. Gustave F. Perna, chief working officer of the federal effort to develop a vaccine, advised The New York Times Sunday that 145 websites are set to obtain the vaccine on Monday, 425 on Tuesday and 66 on Wednesday.

Most of the primary spherical of injections are to be given to high-risk well being care staff, the newspaper reported. Because the vaccines could cause unintended effects together with fevers and aches, hospitals have mentioned they may stagger vaccinations amongst their staff.

Residents of nursing houses, who’ve suffered a disproportionate share of COVID-19 deaths, will start to get pictures subsequent week, the Times reported. A overwhelming majority of Americans won’t be eligible for vaccinations till the spring or later.

Five of the primary vaccinations will happen at what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is asking a nationwide “kickoff event,” scheduled for Monday afternoon at George Washington University Hospital, the Times reported.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar mentioned the plan is to have 20 million folks vaccinated by the tip of December, as much as 50 million by the tip of January and 100 million by the tip of February, the Washington Post reported. That contains plans for the rollout of a second, related vaccine, developed by Moderna, which is predicted to achieve emergency authorization later this week.

The United States turns into the sixth nation — along with Britain, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico — to authorize the Pfizer vaccine, the Times reported.

“The FDA’s authorization for emergency use of the first COVID-19 vaccine is a significant milestone in battling this devastating pandemic that has affected so many families in the United States and around the world,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn mentioned in an announcement launched Friday. “The tireless work to develop a new vaccine to prevent this novel, serious and life-threatening disease in an expedited timeframe after its emergence is a true testament to scientific innovation and public-private collaboration worldwide.”

The nursing dwelling trade applauded the approval.

“On behalf of the long-term [care] industry, we welcome the decision by the FDA to approve emergency use authorization to expedite the distribution of a COVID vaccine,” mentioned Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living. The affiliation represents 14,000 nursing houses and assisted dwelling amenities.

“The delivery of a safe and effective vaccine can’t come soon enough,” he mentioned in an announcement. “More than 100,000 in long-term care have died from this virus in the U.S. and our nursing homes are now experiencing the worst outbreak of new cases since last spring, with more than 2,000 residents succumbing to this virus each week.”

National vaccination marketing campaign an unprecedented problem

The logistics of a nationwide COVID vaccination marketing campaign are daunting: Every state, together with six main cities, has submitted to the federal authorities an inventory of places — primarily hospitals — the place the Pfizer vaccine is to ship initially. In Florida, hospitals in Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Hollywood will get the preliminary doses of vaccine, the Times reported. In rural Vermont, solely the University of Vermont Medical Center and a state warehouse will get provides.

More than vaccine doses be shipped nationwide: Medical provider McKesson Corp will ship kits of syringes, alcohol pads, face shields and different provides to the identical places, the place they may meet up with the vaccines, the Times reported.

As for the vaccines, Pfizer will ship them in specifically designed containers full of dry ice, to maintain the temperature inside at minus 94 levels Fahrenheit. Each container may have a monitoring system and a thermal probe, to ensure no vaccine doses are misplaced or degraded.

Eventually, the Pfizer vaccine, plus an identical one made by Moderna that shall be eyed by the FDA advisory panel for approval on Thursday, ought to assist tame the unfold of coronavirus.

In some disappointing vaccine information, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline mentioned final week that their experimental coronavirus vaccine didn’t work properly in older adults, delaying the beginning of their late-stage medical trial that had been set to start within the United States in December, the Times reported.

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Instead, a modified model of the vaccine shall be examined in a smaller trial set to start in February, the newspaper mentioned. Rather than evaluate their candidate with a placebo, the businesses famous it could possibly be examined in opposition to an already authorised vaccine, Still, they now count on their vaccine won’t be obtainable till the tip of subsequent 12 months.

“We care greatly about public health, which is why we are disappointed by the delay announced today, but all our decisions are and will always be driven by science and data,” Thomas Triomphe, government vice chairman and head of Sanofi Pasteur, the corporate’s vaccine division, advised the Times.

The Sanofi vaccine is one among six that have been chosen by Operation Warp Speed. The firms have negotiated a $2.1 billion settlement with the United States to offer 100 million doses, the Times mentioned.

A world scourge

By Monday, the U.S. coronavirus case depend handed 16.3 million whereas the dying toll handed 299,000, based on a Times tally. By Monday, the highest 5 states for coronavirus infections have been California with almost 1.6 million, Texas with almost 1.5 million instances, Florida with greater than 1.1 million instances; Illinois with over 850,000 instances and New York with almost 781,000 instances.

Curbing the unfold of the coronavirus in the remainder of the world stays difficult.

Many European international locations are tightening restrictions, the Associated Press reported. France is in a nationwide lockdown, and Germany and Austria have began partial lockdowns as authorities officers throughout the continent scramble to gradual a pointy rise in infections that threatens to overwhelm their well being care techniques.

England has adopted swimsuit, whereas Italy, Greece and Kosovo additionally introduced new measures, the AP reported.

Things aren’t any higher in India, the place the coronavirus case depend handed 9.8 million on Monday, the Hopkins University tally confirmed. More than 143,000 coronavirus sufferers have died in India, based on the Hopkins tally, however when measured as a proportion of the inhabitants, the nation has had far fewer deaths than many others. Doctors say this displays India’s youthful and leaner inhabitants. Still, the nation’s public well being system is severely strained, and a few sick sufferers can’t discover hospital beds, the Times mentioned. Only the United States has extra coronavirus instances.

Meanwhile, Brazil had over 6.9 million instances and over 181,000 deaths as of Monday, the Hopkins tally confirmed.

Worldwide, the variety of reported infections handed 72.3 million on Monday, with over 1.6 million deaths recorded, based on the Hopkins tally.

More info

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extra on the brand new coronavirus.

SOURCES: Washington Post; The New York Times; Associated Press

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