Rolling out the Vaccine: How will Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines be Distributed across the US?
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com/Viacheslav Lopatin
By Noelle Woodward
Through all the ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic, one hope has remained strong and steadfast in the eyes of fear-filled Americans: the eventual discovery and distribution of life-saving, mRNA COVID vaccines.
Pfizer and Moderna, two medically-advancing biotechnological companies have successfully produced a vaccine to combat COVID-19, one that is 95% effective, unheard of in vaccines ever before. However, the quest to immunize the public and put this pandemic behind us is a little more complicated than simply discovering new medical technologies. To reach an end to this pandemic in America, the vaccines must be effectively distributed across all fifty states, a feat that is more difficult than it appears.
Originally, the U.S. had set high expectations of the administration of vaccines, even hoping to have 20 million vaccines administered by the end of 2020. Needless to say, the U.S. didn’t reach their quota; with a measly 4.8 million doses administered out of the 17 million distributed, America had a long way to go.
The problem began with a denial to produce an additional 500 million Pfizer vaccines this past summer from the federally-funded program WarpSpeed, an operation designed to produce and deliver vaccines with an accelerated process for development.
Starting off with fewer than expected vaccines, the federal government ineffectively planned shipping, and millions of doses lay waiting in warehouses before eventually being delivered to states who already had decreased funding for administration. In comparison between federal funding, $12 billion were set out for development, while only $390 million were allocated for distribution.
Along with troubles in the federal government’s original apportioning, the individual states have been given so much leeway that the lack of coordination between them has grown into drastic inequity. While some states administer vaccines on a first-come-first-serve basis, others such as New York, have been given such strict guidelines of distribution prioritization that many vaccines end up expired and discarded.
Each state makes their own choices on quantities of vaccines to be delivered as well. “When they first started rolling the vaccine out, it was supposed to be a reliable amount that you got each week,” said Dr. Jill Marek, an emergency room doctor who has been collaborating with the
Athenian school on vaccine distribution information. “But since the vaccine distribution was so poor and so irregular, one week Marin County got 3,000 shots, one week they got 0.”
The distribution of vaccines hasn’t been aligned with population sizes either, leaving larger states such as California fearful of not being able to deliver their second dose, and thus saving half of their received vaccines to be used later, giving an appearance of a low distribution rate. Others, such as “North Dakota that doesn’t have as many people, got proportionally more vaccines than California, just because they can get fewer vials and still have a higher percentage,” said Marek, referring to the immense 8% of North Dakota residents that have already been fully vaccinated.
Regardless of the rocky start, the future of vaccine administration across the country is looking up, especially in regard to President Biden’s new plan to vaccinate 100 million Americans in 100 days. Despite the discouraging appearances, the country should eventually reach herd immunity, likely within the year.
