Second COVID vaccine on its way to states

The first doses of the Moderna vaccine, the second COVID-19 treatment approved for emergency use in the U.S., started shipping Sunday.

Trucks carrying the vaccine left a Memphis-area factory, with the doses expected to be administered as early as Monday. The Food and Drug Administration authorized the vaccine, developed by the Massachusetts-based Moderna in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, on Friday.

It couldn’t come soon enough for the virus-ravaged U.S.

Nationwide, more than 219,000 people test positive for the virus on average every day. At least 314,000 in the U.S. and upward of 1.7 million worldwide have died from COVID-19 complications.

The initial shipments of the Moderna vaccine, like the Pfzier vaccine before it, are expected to go to health care workers and residents of long-term care homes.

Both vaccines are only safe after two doses, given weeks apart, but both have showed to be highly effective with minimal side effects.

While President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to administer 100 million vaccinations in the first 100 days of his administration, the available doses will be rationed among the most vulnerable populations and essential workers first.

However, Biden’s choice for surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, warned Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that it may be midsummer or early fall before coronavirus vaccines are available to the general population. “I think it’s more realistic to assume that it may be closer to midsummer or early fall when this vaccine makes its way to the general population,” Murthy said. “So, we want to be optimistic, but we want to be cautious as well.”

Murthy said he and the other incoming health officials’ priority is ensuring the vaccine rollout isn’t delayed.

A number of states have criticized the Trump administration’s rollout as bungled, complaining the number of promised doses has been underdelivered. At least a dozen states reported they would receive a smaller second shipment of the Pfizer vaccine than they had been told, The Associated Press said.”