Less than 48 hours after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn signed an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer Wuhan coronavirus vaccine, the first trucks are loaded and transporting the vaccine to all 50 states. The truck departed Kalamazoo, Michigan on Sunday morning.
"What a relief, Abby, what a relief, not just as a reporter but also as a person to see this vaccine finally hit the road," CNN's Pete Muntean said on air. "We know in these trucks 189 boxes of the Pfizer vaccine headed to all 50 states right now. We have seen them load up the trucks all morning here at Pfizer's facility just outside of Kalamazoo, Michigan. These trucks are headed to distribution locations for FedEx and UPS and then all of the vaccine will go to 600 locations across the country."
According to CNN, the vaccine will be dropped off at hospitals and pharmacies throughout the country and will begin as early as Monday. The bulk of the deliveries will, however, take place on Tuesday. The organizational efforts between the federal government, USP, FedEx and Pfizer are attributed to Operation Warp Speed, the White House's mission of creating a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine in record time.
Really big news for Americans across the country ?? pic.twitter.com/uNyZ5aKuCo
— Beth Baumann (@eb454) December 13, 2020
The vaccine was developed in a partnership between Pfizer and BioNTech and had an efficacy rate of 95 percent. Pfizer is currently working with the federal government to get 100 million doses distributed by March. Hahn on Saturday reassured Americans that Pfizer's Wuhan coronavirus vaccine "meets the FDA's rigorous standards for safety and effectiveness." He said he plans to get the vaccine as soon as he can.
The distribution of the Pfizer vaccine is considered another success for Operation Warp Speed. Their goal was to research the virus, develop a vaccine, run successful trials, create millions of doses and adequately distribute the vaccine.
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