COVID-19 vaccinations are officially under way in the United States Monday after the first inoculations were administered following Friday’s Emergency Use Authorization by Food and Drug Administration.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is expected to immunize up to 25 million people by the year-end with an initial roll-out of about 2.9 million doses sent across the United States this week.
The start of vaccinations less than a year into its development is seen not only as a medical miracle but also as a turning point in mitigation efforts in a country that has suffered the most infections and death anywhere in the world.
ICU Nurse Sandra Lindsay from Long Island New York became one of the first people in the nation to receive the inoculation, during an event Livestreamed by the Governor of the State.
“It didn’t feel any different from taking any other vaccine. Governor Cuomo, I’m feeling well, I would like to thank all the frontline workers, all my colleagues who’ve been doing a yeoman’s job to fight this pandemic all over the world. I am hopeful. I feel hopeful today. I’m relieved. I feel like healing is coming. I hope this marks the beginning to the end of a very painful time in our history. I want to instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe. We’re in a pandemic. And so we all need to do our part to put an end to the pandemic,” says Lindsay.
The US has recorded over 16 million cases and 299 000 deaths and counting.
Ugar Sahin, CEO of BIONTECH that partnered with Pfizer in the development of the vaccine, says, “It has huge importance. The attack rates in the United States at the moment are among the highest in the world. And we started to develop our vaccines with the goal to make an effective and safe vaccine available as soon as possible. And the Emergency Use Authorization (EMA) allows us now to bring the vaccine at a time point that provides that extremely high medical need to the population. It validates the safety and efficacy of our approach.”
The FDA authorization saw a massive logistical operation kick into high gear in order to package, transport and ship millions of vaccine doses around the country that must be stored at minus-70 degrees Celsius. UPS and Fedex ensured they get the highest priority, while workers at a Pfizer factory in Michigan cheered the first shipments being dispatched.
Captain Houston Mills of UPS Flight Operation and Safety, “From a pilot’s perspective, this is what we do all the time. And as you all know, this is our peak season. So this is the busiest time for us. But, we made capacity in our network because we knew these vaccines were so important. So not only are we going to be here to play Santa and ensure that all those gifts are there, we’re also going to be able to make sure, you know, these incredible vaccines are there as well.”
As COVID-19 hospitalizations nationwide remain at record levels, 109 000, this initial round of vaccinations targeting healthcare workers and nursing homes is not expected to impact current scenarios on the ground; particularly for people like ICU Nurse Martha Navarro in Los Angeles.
“The most difficult thing for me is when you have to turn the families away. Families are very important and essential for the healing of the patients and when they cannot see their loved ones, and I have to be the one that says, I’m sorry, you can’t come to see your loved one, that makes it very, very difficult for me.”
Wall Street opened higher on Monday; buoyed by a surge in travel stocks on the launch of the vaccination programme.
As the United States becomes only the sixth country after the UK, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico to approve the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for use, a development process being hailed as a medical miracle given the breakneck speed at which we arrived at Friday’s Emergency Use Authorization.
To put this into some context, the fastest vaccine brought to market before this was for mumps and that took four years. The FDA will weigh a similar decision on Moderna’s vaccine later this week, which could see an additional 15 million doses become available before the year’s end.
