(Reuters) – A dialogue advises top U.S. front-line workers on Sunday and people 75 and older should be the next to be inoculated as the distribution of Moderna Inc.’s vaccine, the second vaccine approved against the coronavirus, began across the country.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Immunization Practices Advisory Committee voted 13 to 1 to recommend 30 million essential front-line workers, including first aid, teachers, food and agriculture, manufacturing, U.S. postal service, public transportation and grocery store workers, have the next priority for vaccines.
In total, this measure would mean that 51 million people could be inoculated in the next round. It was not clear immediately when the next round would begin.
Around 200 million people, including non-front-line workers, such as those in the media, finance, energy and IT and communication industries, people in the 65-74 age group, and people aged 16 to 64 with high risk conditions should be round, the panel is recommended.
States, which are the ones distributing traits to their residents, will use advisory panel guidelines to decide how to allocate vaccines while supplies are scarce.
Disease inoculation is key to the safe reopening of large parts of the economy and to reducing disease risks in crowded meat-packing plants, factories and warehouses. However, there has been confusion about who exactly is considered essential during a pandemic.
Prior to the vote, many companies and industry groups had been pushing for their U.S. workers to receive vaccines immediately after health professionals and long-term care center residents.
Meanwhile, trucks from FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. began collecting doses from warehouses for deliveries to hospitals and other locations.
Moderna’s vaccine vials were filled at the facilities of pharmaceutical service provider Catalent Inc in Bloomington, Indiana. Distributor McKesson Corp. ships shipments of facilities to locations such as Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis, Tennessee, near UPS and FedEx air centers.
Both FedEx and UPS said the shipments were running smoothly and everything was going exactly as planned.
Separately, U.S. health officials are monitoring the new strain of COVID-19 that appears in the UK, U.S. surgeon general Jerome Adams said Sunday, adding that any mutation shows people must continue to protect. of the new coronavirus while awaiting vaccination.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and scientists announced on Saturday that the new strain of the virus had caused an increase in infections, tightening restrictions on COVID-19 in London and nearby areas and altering Christmas holiday plans by millions. of people.
The variant, which officials say is up to 70% more transmissible than the original, has sparked concern for wider dissemination. Several European countries, including Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands, said they were taking steps to prevent people from arriving in Britain, including bans on flights and trains.
Distribution of Moderna’s vaccine to more than 3,700 locations in the United States will greatly expand the launch launched last week by Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE.
The head of the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program, Moncef Slaoui, said it is very likely that the first Modern vaccine, approved on Friday by the Food and Drug Administration, will be given on the first Monday morning.
“We are waiting for the vaccine. It will be a little easier to distribute because it does not require a temperature as low as Pfizer, “Slaoui told CNN.
The U.S. government plans to deliver 5.9 million shots of Moderna and 2 million shots of Pfizer this week.
CDC data show that 2.84 million doses have been distributed and 556,208 shots have been administered so far.
The start of delivery of the Modern vaccine will significantly expand the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, as deaths in the U.S. caused by respiratory disease have reached more than 316,000 in the 11 months following the first documented cases in the U.S. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)
Some states choose to use Moderna shots for more hard-to-reach rural areas, as they can be stored for 30 days in standard temperature refrigerators. Pfizer should be shipped and stored at less than 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit) and can only be kept for five days at the standard refrigerator temperature.
Initial doses were given to health professionals. Walgreens and CVS pharmacy programs to distribute the Pfizer vaccine to long-term care centers are scheduled to begin on Monday.
Reports by Carl O’Donnell in New York and Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; Additional reports from Idrees Ali in Washington; Edited by Lisa Shumaker and Sonya Hepinstall