The newly-authorized Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will commence being disseminated to states across the United States on December 14, according to officials with Operation Warp Speed.
Distribution of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine
UPS and FedEx are contributing to the shipment of the vaccine, which was developed by United States-based Pfizer and Germany-based BioNTech.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shipments are ready in the US to set forth the greatest vaccination effort in American history at a critical phase of the pandemic that has 1.6 million fatalities with ailing 71 million people across the globe.
South Korea has recorded 1,030 new novel coronavirus infections. It had its largest single-day jump and the second daily record consecutively, pressurizing authorities to further tighten physical distancing rules.
Hospital systems across the nation should expect the initial shipments of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to arrive on Monday, according to the chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, Gen. Gustave Perna.
Perna stated, "Boxes are being packed and loaded with vaccine with emphasis on quality control," reported NBC News.
United States Army General Gustave Perna has called this day D-Day, alluding to the Allied landing in France during World War II. This marks the beginning of the end in a significant bout against an enemy that has killed off thousands of lives and threatened basic freedoms.
Today is the "moment of truth" for the UPS following months of logistical planning, reported CNBC.
The massive COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the United States' initial 2.9 million shots would be allocated for frontline healthcare workers and elderly care homes, also according to Perna.
Vaccine creator Pfizer is working with distribution partners to commence the vaccine's shipments by truck and airplane from its Michigan and Wisconsin warehouses on Sunday to 50 states.
Hospitals that have spent months searching for a silver bullet against the virus that has recorded over 295,000 fatalities in the US will begin receiving shipments on Monday. According to US officials, the start of distribution this weekend could be compared to the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.
The initial shipment of an estimated 3 million doses will merely go to an estimated 145 sites throughout the US.
According to Perna, "We expect 145 sites across all the states to receive vaccine on Monday, another 425 sites on Tuesday, and the final 66 sites on Wednesday, which will complete the initial delivery of the Pfizer orders," reported Stat.
The US recorded its 16 millionth COVID-19 case on Saturday. It took three months for the nation to register its first million cases.
Trucks will begin distribution on Sunday morning as shipping companies UPS and FedEx commence the delivery of the Pfizer vaccine.
Operation Warp Speed is President Donald Trump's administration's vaccine development program.
Meanwhile, 425 sites would receive shipments on Tuesday, with the remaining 66 scheduled on Wednesday.
Gen. Perna is supervising the dissemination.
The vaccine provides up to 95% protection against COVID-19 and was authorized as safe for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Perna stated despite months of distributing, preparing, and administering the vaccine to as many as 330 million recipients remains to be a major logistical challenge.
