Historic vaccines arrive across U.S.

PORTAGE, Mich. — The first of many freezer-packed COVID-19 vaccine vials made their way to distribution sites across the United States on Sunday, a bright spot at the end of a tragic year as the nation approaches the horrifying new milestone of 300,000 deaths from the disease.

The rollout of the Pfizer vaccine, the first to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, ushers in the biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history — one that health officials hope the American public will embrace, even as some have voiced initial skepticism or worry. The first of two shots are expected to be given in the coming week to health care workers and nursing home residents.

Quick transport is key for the vaccine, especially since this one must be stored at extremely low temperatures (about 94 degrees below zero). Early Sunday, workers at Pfizer — dressed in fluorescent yellow clothing, hard hats and

gloves — wasted no time as they packed vials into boxes. They scanned the packages and then placed them into freezer cases with dry ice. The vaccines were then taken from Pfizer’s Portage, Mich., facility to Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, where the first cargo plane took off amid what airport officials called a “jubilant” mood.

“This is a historic day,” said Richard W. Smith, who oversees operations in the Americas for FedEx, which is delivering 630-some packages of vaccines to distribution sites across the country. UPS also is transporting a share of the vaccine.

Tracked with GPS- enabled sensors, the initial shipments were expected to contain about 3 million doses, with many more to come. Federal officials say the first shipments of Pfizer’s vaccine will be staggered, arriving in 145 distribution centers Monday, with another 425 sites getting shipments Tuesday, and the remaining 66 on Wednesday. Doses of the vaccine are given out based on each state’s adult population. Then the states decide where they go first.

In California, where health care workers will be among the first to be vaccinated, state health officials are prioritizing hospitals that have adequate storage capacity, serve high-risk populations and can vaccinate people quickly.

Initial surveys have found that even some health care workers don’t want to be first in line. Dr. Graham Snyder, who’s led the vaccine task force at Pennsylvania health care giant UPMC, estimates that about half of its employees are willing to get the vaccine as soon as it’s offered.

But many health officials expect enthusiasm to grow.

“There’s that thought that maybe they don’t have to be so afraid to come to work if they can be vaccinated and be immune,” said Dr. Sandra Kemmerly, medical director of hospital quality at Oschner Health System in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Employees approved for the first round are getting texts and emails directing them to schedule their initial injection, she said. Enough vaccine is being saved so that each person who gets the first dose of vaccine can get a second shot a few weeks later.