As winter comes, the continuous spread of COVID-19 still threatens the United States. However, as the first COVID-19 vaccine gets authorization from the FDA, hope sprouts that this pandemic may soon be mitigated.
Following the FDA's approval of the first vaccine in the U.S., private sectors and Operation Warp Speed (OWS) immediately worked into shipping the vaccines to different states and public health jurisdictions.
As the OWS delivers more than 3 million doses of the vaccine, long term care facility residents and health care workers will be the first to receive the vaccine in the coming days.
In an opinion published in Fox News, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar discussed how the OWS helped distribute the vaccines in a record time to prevent the further spread of the disease.
According to Azar, those who will not fall in the categories which would first receive the vaccine may reach out to their local government or check their state's COVID-19 webpages for information on when or where they can get vaccinated.
Earlier this year, several experts have predicted that it would take at least a year before a vaccine for the coronavirus would be developed. However, Azar noted that millions of doses are now heading to different states through the efforts of the U.S. government and the OWS.
He also added that there is another vaccine that is already under review by the FDA.
Azar credited the Trump administration's response to beating the predictions and expectations of experts through the OWS.
According to USA Today, the development of COVID-19 vaccines by American researchers started as early as January as the virus was just starting to spread worldwide. It was stated that the Moderna began to work on their vaccine immediately the morning after they received the viral sequence data from the Chinese researchers.
Read also: Pfizer BioNTech Submit Application for E.U. Approval of the Use COVID-19 Vaccine This December
Azar added that as pharmaceutical companies and biotech firms started to work on the vaccine, Trump's administration began to identify potential challenges that may hinder or slow the distribution and access to the vaccines.
According to Azar, one of the challenges is the complexity and the time needed to scale up the manufacturing. He further stated that distributing the vaccine to Americans is also a huge challenge, and administering the immunization shot.
Also, Azar narrated how he started working with the HHS's scientific leaders with U.S. President Trump's support to talk about the things that should be done to tackle these challenges and make vaccine distribution as smooth as possible. He also added that they recruited top experts worldwide to execute such goals.
Azar continued that while the HHS has worked deeply with researchers and innovators, distribution and manufacture of such a large scale also needed the support of the Department of Defense, NY Post reported.
He added that the Pentagon ensures that the supplies for manufacturing go where it is needed every day.
In his Op-Ed, Azar emphasized how the Trump administration played a huge part in making it easier for people to access vaccines countrywide.
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