The Long Fight with COVID-19
Beginning in December of 2020, news of the widespread distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine surfaced. It was rumored that vaccine distribution would occur through Operation Warp Speed. At the beginning of the month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), approved two variations of the COVID-19 vaccine from two separate companies: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. With both vaccines being issued for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA, it seemed as though the year of 2020 could end on a high note.
The first batch of over 40 million vaccines is expected to be given to 20 million people in the U.S., and vaccinations will carry through into this year. However, according to CNBC, only 1 million people received the vaccine before Christmas. There were various issues with the distribution of the vaccine related to the delivery processes, destinations, and overall handling of the vaccines. In some cases, the vaccine shipments did not arrive at the correct locations and others arrived much later than expected.
The recent issues with the vaccines also come from the creators of the vaccines. Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have seen very high demand from not only the U.S. but other countries worldwide, which is why it is hard for these companies to meet the high demand with minimal supplies. While detailed steps of how the companies make and send out vaccines are not made available to the public, certain risks posed by the distribution of the vaccines have been known for some time now. The current state of vaccine distribution is best described by a statement made by Bruce Y. Lee to STAT: “You bake a thousand cakes, you’re not going to get a thousand successful cakes.”
For starters, both vaccines are fragile and need to be stored in extremely cold temperatures. According to CNBC, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine needs to be stored in negative 94 degrees Fahrenheit. The vaccines need to be stored in cold containers at all times. In addition, the vaccines are contained in glass, which can easily break if not handled properly. However, a large part of the delay of vaccines is simply due to demand, as the United States and other countries like the United Kingdom and Italy are all requesting doses. It will likely take time to meet the excessive demand for COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.
The United States is currently suffering from the highest rate of COVID-19 cases and deaths as of January 14th. The Washington Post reported that on January 12th alone, more than 4,000 deaths were reported. The U.S. government plans to change the schedule of the vaccine distribution to get more people vaccinated at a faster rate. More locations to distribute vaccines should also help to meet the demand for COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months.
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