The US is preparing thousands of boxes of Moderna vaccines to begin distribution this Sunday

View of Modern Biotech headquarters in Norwood, Massachusetts.  EFE / Cj Gunther / Archive
View of Modern Biotech headquarters in Norwood, Massachusetts. EFE / Cj Gunther / Archive

With the help of the Armed Forces, logistics operators in the United States fill up on Saturday thousands of ultra-cold boxes with Modern vaccines against COVID-19 to start distributing them this Sunday in over 3,700 points in the country and to start the first injections on Monday.

“The boxes are ready and loaded today”, the army general announced at a press conference on Saturday, Gus Perna, responsible for Operation Warp Speed, organized by the White House with the help of the Pentagon to accelerate population immunization campaign.

Modern, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, already transported the vaccines from its factories to the warehouses of the American giant McKesson, dedicated to the distribution of medicines and which will deal with the transport of the Moderna vaccine.

At the McKesson facility, workers even pack vaccines in refrigerated boxes, Perna explained in his press conference.

Gustave Perna in charge of the armed forces of Operation Warp Speed.  Chip Somodevilla / Pool via REUTERS
Gustave Perna in charge of the armed forces of Operation Warp Speed. Chip Somodevilla / Pool via REUTERS

Tomorrow Sunday those boxes, which contain every 100 doses, will start to be transported by land and air to over 3,700 points in the country, a task that will revert to FedEX and UPS logistics operators.

vaccines They’re leaving McKesson’s facilities in Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis, Tennessee, tomorrow., inter alia, as these two points are closest to the FedEX and UPS air distribution centers, the preferred means of transporting vaccines as quickly as possible.

Over 3,700 destinations in the first week

The goal is that Moderna vaccines will reach more than 3,700 points in the United States next week, which includes hospitals and pharmacies, as health care workers have priority when they receive their first doses.

This vaccine transport operation to over 3,700 points in the United States is much larger than the one organized for the distribution of the serum of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer in 636 locations, the first approved by the authorities and received by 2.9 million Americans this week.

FedEx and UPS are two of the key pieces in the US vaccine distribution campaign.  REUTERS / Rebecca Cook / Photo files
FedEx and UPS are two of the key players in the US vaccine distribution campaign. REUTERS / Rebecca Cook / Photo files

The giant Pfizer, known for its production of Viagra, has created its own vaccine distribution system in hospitals; but, Modern, until recently a small startup, had the help of the US government in Operation Warp Speed.

The huge difference in the number of distribution points (from 636 to 3,700) is due storage requirements for each vaccine.

Serum The modern one will be transported in small refrigerated boxes that must maintain a temperature of -20 degrees Celsius; while the Pfizer vaccine needs larger bunkers because it needs to be surrounded by dry ice to stay in the range of -60 to -80 degrees.

All doses, whether from Moderna or Pfizer, travel with a strong security device, integrated among others by the US Marshals Corps and must be stored in locked refrigerators.

FedEx improved its ability to carry vaccines in 2009, during the H1N1 pandemic.  (FedEx)
FedEx improved its ability to carry vaccines in 2009, during the H1N1 pandemic. (FedEx)

20 million doses by the end of the year

If all goes well, by the end of the year, the 50 US states will be able to count on 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, as originally promised, Perna said. However, the general announced that some of the shipments would not arrive until the first week of January, which is a slight delay.

YET 5.9 million doses of Moderna vaccine and another 2 million Pfizer will be distributed next week across the country, greatly increasing the scope of the immunization campaign.

vaccine Moderna received approval from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday night (FDA, in English), the body that regulates the marketing of drugs in the US and which on the 11th of this month has already given the green light to Pfizer serum.

Archive image.  Boxes containing the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine are unloaded from air transport containers at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky, United States.  December 13, 2020. Michael Clevenger / REUTERS / Pool
Archive image. Boxes containing the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine are unloaded from air transport containers at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. December 13, 2020. Michael Clevenger / REUTERS / Pool

The two vaccines should be given in two doses. Moderna claims that its product is 94.1% efficient, while Pfizer claims that its product is 95%.

The United States is “investigating” allergic reactions

At the beginning of the US immunization campaign, isolated episodes of allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine in states such as Alaska and Illinois, also rejected by two UK health workers.

In response, The FDA is working with Pfizer to identify the cause of these allergic reactions, vaccine expert Doran Fink said on Saturday. during a meeting of the Government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“The FDA is working very closely with our colleagues at the CDC and also with the UK investigate those reports of allergic reactions or suspected allergic reactions after using the Pfizer vaccine“Said Fink, who insisted he was safe.

Vaccination campaign among US health workers REUTERS / Bryan Woolston
Vaccination campaign among US health workers REUTERS / Bryan Woolston

In case of Modernly, three volunteers suffered from allergic reactionsAlthough two of them received the placebo and not the vaccine itself, so the event is being investigated.

The start of a massive immunization campaign against covid-19 in the US comes at the worst moment of the pandemic, with 17.5 million infections and over 314,000 deaths, more than any other country in absolute terms, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Beatriz Pascual Macías for EFE

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