As part of a historic mass vaccination effort, the United States will deliver the first dose of Pfizer’s recently approved corona virus vaccine on Monday, December 14th.
The first of about 3 million shots will go to health workers and hospital residents, making it highly vulnerable. To date, federal officials estimate that 40% of viral deaths are in residents of long-term care facilities.
Workers at a Pfizer plant in Portage, Mich., Have been loading trucks into trucks since Sunday, and UPS and FedEx have led to the production of precious, ancillary ice products across the country. These vaccines are available from Pfizer’s Bortage facility at Gerald R.’s in Grand Rapids. Taken to Ford International Airport. Trucks departing from the Michigan facility met with Sears on Sunday.
Click here for full corona virus coverage
Boxes containing the Pfizer-Bioentech Covit-19 vaccine are ready to be shipped to the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo Production Plant in Bordage on Sunday, December 13, 2020. (AB Photo / Mori Cash, Pool)
D.R. SLAOUI: OPERATION WARP SPEED meets Coronavirus vaccine targets
FedEx took to Twitter on Monday to announce the successful completion of the initial deliveries.
“We have secured our first deliveries pizer- iBioNTech_Group COVID-19 vaccines,” FedEx wrote in a tweet. “We are proud to be able to use our network to bring these important vaccines to the United States and eventually to the rest of the world.”
FedEx tweeted yesterday that planes had landed in Memphis following reports that the vaccines had departed safely from the Grand Rapids to their final destinations. Rapid transport for the vaccine is important, especially since it must be stored at a very low temperature – 94 degrees below zero.
FedEx workers vaccine dose Grand Rapids, Mich. (FedEx)
UPS echoed the historic day in a tweet on Sunday: “It’s been a hurricane for months, and it’s been months.
Pfizer-Biotech coronavirus first ship leaves Michigan facility
The first shipments are said to arrive at 145 distribution centers in 50 states on Monday, with an additional 425 sites being shipped on Tuesday and the remaining 66 on Wednesday. The vaccine, developed in collaboration with German partner Bioendech, is based on the number of adults in each state.
Although initial doses are now being offered nationwide, the vaccine still faces significant distrust and suspicion among the majority of Americans.
Fossie says coronavirus vaccine builds trust: ‘We have a mission outside the United States’
A study by the Associated Press-NRC Public Affairs Research Center found that half of Americans would like to be vaccinated sooner rather than later. Another quarter is not sure, the rest of the quarter they say they are not interested. Some are generally opposed to vaccines. Others worry that the vaccines have arrived in a hurry and want to see how the roll goes.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, who approved the Pfizer vaccine on Friday, has repeatedly insisted that the company’s decision was based on science, not politics.
Get the Fox News app
Fox News’ EV Fordom and the Associated Press contributed to the report.