More vaccine options on the way as first doses roll out.

Now that the first COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in Connecticut, hospitals and other distribution sites have the responsibility for keeping them safe and effective.

And soon they’ll have more options for vaccinating their employees and others, with Moderna’s vaccine expected to come this week, followed by two other vaccines — AstraZeneca’s, and Johnson & Johnson’s — next year.

If approved, the Moderna vaccine could start being given as early as Monday, right on the heels of one from Pfizer/BioNTech.

Officials from the Department of Health and Humans Services said they expect the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be ready to inoculate Americans in February and the AstraZeneca vaccine could be in arms starting in March.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use Friday night and the first doses arrived at Hartford Hospital Monday morning.

After the initial push of Pfizer doses that arrived this week, the company will distribute more Pfizer vaccines every Friday.

The vaccine needs to be kept extremely cold at minus 70 degrees Celsius — about minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit — while being transported and stored. Hospitals are utilizing ultra-cold freezers for storage, which can extend the vaccine’s shelf life for up to six months, according to Pfizer.

One vial of the vaccine carries five doses when diluted for injection. One tray holds 195 vials and up to five trays fit into a box, which is packed in a carton with 50 pounds of dry ice. In transport, GPS-equipped monitors to make sure they remain cold enough.

The boxes are transported in temperature controlled vehicles and facilities as they make the journey. These thermal shippers can be used as temporary storage units by refilling with dry ice every five days for up to 30 days of storage, according to Pfizer.

Hartford Healthcare received 1,950 doses Monday morning. The vaccine comes in powder form that then needs to be ‘reconstituted’ after mixed with a liquid. It takes about half an hour to thaw out after it’s removed from the ultracold temperatures.

The thawed undiluted vaccine can be stored for only five days refrigerated and can’t be refrozen, according to Pfizer.

A diluted vial can be kept for six hours before it must be discarded, the Washington Post reported.

At Yale New Haven Hospital, the vaccine will be stored in freezers at minus

80 degrees Celsius, with room enough for 150,000 doses.

In another freezer, there’s enough room for about

100,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine to be stored at minus 25 degrees Celsius, according to a YNNH official.

Even while handling, the vaccines will be closely monitored for temperature and access to the vials will be highly limited.

Full administration of Pfizer’s vaccine requires two doses taken three weeks apart.

Roughly 31,000 doses will be arriving at Connecticut hospitals and nursing homes to begin vaccinating people in those fields first.

The Moderna vaccine, which could arrive as early as Monday, requires storage at minus 20 degrees Celsius — about 4 degrees below zero in Fahrenheit — but can keep for about a month in a refrigerator, which is typical of some other vaccines including those for measles.

This makes it practical for storage at most pharmacies, physician offices and hospitals that don’t have extreme temperature freezers. The vaccine remains stable at room temperature for up to 12 hours, according to Moderna.

McKesson Corporation is responsible for transporting the Moderna vaccine under a contract option from 2016 with the Department for Health and Human Services.

Moderna’s vaccine is still pending emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but once authorization is finalized, it’ll be shipped out by UPS and FedEx to hospitals and distributors.

The meeting of FDA officials on Moderna’s vaccine is scheduled for Thursday.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is also highly anticipated because unlike Pfizer’s and Moderna’s, this one can be shipped and stored at regular refrigerator temperatures, the AP reported.

Results suggest that AstraZeneca’s vaccine is on average 70 percent effective based on two studies.

In mid-November Johnson & Johnson initiated its phase 3 study of a two-dose vaccine, which will assess the safety and efficacy in up to 60,000 participants. The vaccine is being developed by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.