Millions of vaccines against Covid-19, stored at -70 ° C on dry ice, are being sent to every corner of the United States: a giant logistics distribution operation that began this Sunday with the aim of administering the first doses in the second - market.
This impressive display reflects the sense of urgency in the world's leading economic powerhouse, where nearly 300,000 people have already died from the new coronavirus, the equivalent of the population of a city like Cincinnati (Ohio, northwest).
US approves use of Pfizer vaccine and immunization starts on Monday
An army of trucks loaded with thousands of doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, packed in boxes containing up to 4,725 injections each, left the Pfizer plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan (north) on Sunday, headed for strategic centers by UPS and FedEx parcel services , who will be responsible for their distribution.
Pfizer estimates that 20 planes will carry their vaccines daily to populations across the country, including the Native American tribe of the Navajo, who were hard hit by the pandemic.
The goal is to deliver the first batch of vaccines within 24 hours to all hospitals and locations that request it and to vaccinate the first Americans immediately.
"I am hopeful that this will be done very quickly. Hopefully tomorrow (Monday)," Stephen Hahn, head of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), told CNN.
As a precaution, of the 6.4 million doses available, only half will be delivered, with the remainder reserved for the second required dose three weeks later.
In this first phase, about three million people will be immunized. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended prioritizing residents of nursing homes (3 million people) and health professionals (21 million).
The vaccine of the German-American duo Pfizer / BioNTech, from which the United States government bought 100 million doses, is 95% effective and has already started to be administered in the United Kingdom.
However, in the face of this good news, the authorities fear that the Americans will let their guard down.
The country continues to record a record number of infections, regularly exceeding 200,000 cases and reaching up to 3,000 deaths daily.
The United States is the country most affected by the pandemic, with more than 16 million registered infections and almost 300,000 deaths from Covid-19. However, the actual death toll is underestimated due to the lack of evidence at the beginning of the pandemic.
Unlike the first wave of the northern spring, this time the outbreak affects the entire country.
And while the first vaccinations in his state are scheduled for Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said he expects a "hellish" pandemic in the coming weeks, urging residents to avoid large family gatherings during the holiday season.
To achieve collective immunity, synonymous with a return to normality, between 75% and 80% of the United States population would need to be vaccinated, experts warn.
This will not happen until "May or June", according to Moncef Slaoui, scientific adviser to the government's vaccination operation.
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