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Monday 14 deceMber 2020

COVID-19 vaccine shipments begin in historic U.S. effort

cases with dry ice. The vac- was hospitalized in Georgia Enough vaccine is being
cines were then taken from one day after he saw her saved so that each person
Pfizer’s Portage, Michigan, on a video chat, and they who gets the first dose of
facility to Gerald R. Ford In- never spoke again. vaccine can get a second
ternational Airport in Grand Tracked with GPS-enabled shot a few weeks later.
Rapids, where the first car- sensors, the initial ship- A survey from The Associ-
go plane took off amid ments were expected to ated Press-NORC Center
what airport officials called contain about 3 million for Public Affairs Research
a “jubilant” mood.“This is a doses, with many more found that about half of
historic day,” said Richard to come. Federal officials Americans want to get the
W. Smith, who oversees op- say the first shipments of vaccine as soon as possi-
erations in the Americas for Pfizer’s vaccine will be ble. Another quarter aren’t
FedEx Express, which is de- staggered, arriving in 145 sure, while the remaining
livering 630-some packag- distribution centers Mon- quarter say they aren’t in-
Pfizer employees clap after line workers finished packing boxes es of vaccine to distribution day, with another 425 sites terested. Some simply op-
containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be shipped
at the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing plant in sites across the country. The getting shipments Tuesday, pose vaccines in general.
Portage, Mich., Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020. United Parcel Service also is and the remaining 66 on Others are concerned that
Associated Press transporting a share of the Wednesday. Doses of the the vaccines have been
vaccine. vaccine, co-developed by rushed and want to see
Contrinued from Front Sunday, workers at Pfizer Helping with the transport German partner BioNTech, how the rollout goes.
— dressed in fluorescent of the vaccine has special are given out based on Dr. Stephen Hahn, com-
Quick transport is key for yellow clothing, hard hats meaning to Bruce Smith, a each state’s adult popula- missioner of the FDA, which
the vaccine, especially and gloves — wasted no FedEx package handler at tion. Then the states decide approved the Pfizer vac-
since this one must be time as they packed vials the Grand Rapids airport, where they go first. cine Friday, has repeatedly
stored at extremely low into boxes. They scanned whose older sister, Queen, In California, where health insisted that the agency’s
temperatures — about 94 the packages and then died after she contracted care workers will be among decision was based on sci-
degrees below zero. Early placed them into freezer the coronavirus in May. She the first to be vaccinated, ence, not politics, despite
state health officials are pri- a White House threat to fire
oritizing hospitals that have him if the vaccine wasn’t
adequate storage capac- approved before Saturday.
ity, serve high-risk popula- Speaking to Fox News Sun-
tions and have the ability to day, Dr. Moncef Slaoui,
vaccinate people quickly. chief science adviser to
Initial surveys have found Operation Warp Speed, a
that even some health care U.S. effort to get vaccines
workers don’t want to be developed quickly, also
first in line. Dr. Graham Sny- said he is “very concerned”
der, who’s led the vaccine about the skepticism about
task force at Pennsylvania the vaccine in some circles.
health care giant UPMC, “Unfortunately ... there’s
estimates that about half been a confusion between
of its employees are willing how thorough and scien-
to get the vaccine as soon tific and factual the work
as it’s offered. that has been done is, and
But many health officials the perception that people
expect enthusiasm to grow. are thinking that we cut
“There’s that thought that corners ...,” Slaoui said. “I
maybe they don’t have can guarantee you that
to be so afraid to come to no such things have hap-
work if they can be vac- pened, that we follow the
cinated and be immune,” science.”
said Dr. Sandra Kemmerly, He called the develop-
medical director of hospi- ment of vaccines from sev-
tal quality at the 40-hospi- eral pharmaceutical com-
tal Oschner Health System panies, including Moderna
in Louisiana and Mississippi. and AstraZeneca, “a re-
Employees approved for markable achievement of
the first round are getting science, academia, the
texts and emails direct- industry ecosystem and the
ing them to schedule their U.S. government, working
initial injection, she said. together.”q