CDC Allows Vaccine to be Administered in the US
- fionacsweet
- Dec 13, 2020
- 2 min read
The FDA granted emergency use authorization for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine late Friday night and this morning the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield has accepted an advisory committee's recommendation that the vaccine can be given to those 16 and over. This means that the vaccine can officially begin being administered in the United States.
This morning, the first batch of vaccines was shipped out of Portage, Michigan to all 50 states. Freight trucks carrying about 184,275 vials of the vaccine departed and the 189 boxes of those vials are expected to arrive in all states on Monday. Another 3,900 vials will be shipping later today to US territories, and 400 boxes with about 390,000 vials will ship tomorrow to arrive on Tuesday. According to Pfizer, there are five doses of vaccine per vial. To all of the freight trucks carrying this precious cargo, please be safe.
By the end of the year, the US plans to distribute 40 million doses, followed by 50 to 80 million in January and February. By the end of February, the US is hoping to have immunized around 100 million people.
This news could not have come at a better time. Hospitalizations are at a record high for the seventh day in a row and things are looking bleak with the coming holidays. While this vaccine will not be given to the larger public right away, we have hope that we can return back to normalcy eventually and hopefully sometime rather soon.
Happy Holidays to us - this is honestly one of the best presents I could ever hope for. But until the vaccine is widely distributed, we are not out of the woods. For now, please continue to...
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