AMN/ WEB DESK
A massive COVID-19 vaccination campaign will begin in USA from tomorrow, US officials said, after the government gave final go-ahead to the shots needed to end an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans.
General Gustave Perna of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine development programme said truckloads of Pfizer’s vaccine will be delivered today to nearly 150 distribution centres across the states. An additional 425 sites will get shipments on Tuesday, and the remaining 66 on Wednesday.
The vaccine was timed to arrive on Monday so health workers could receive the shots and begin giving them, Perna said.
Perna compared the vaccine distribution effort to D-Day, the US-led military offensive that turned the tide in World War II. D-Day was the beginning of the end of the war and that’s where we are today, Perna said a news conference yesterday. But he added that it would take months of work and diligence, courage and strength to eventually achieve victory.
The announcement kicks off a massive logistical operation involving the federal and state governments, private companies and health care workers to quickly distribute limited vaccine supplies throughout the US. Initially, about 3 million doses were expected to be shipped nationwide. A similar number of shots will be held back for those recipients’ second dose, which is needed for full protection from COVID-19. It was unclear exactly who would receive the first shots, though healthcare workers and nursing home residents were the priority. Perna said health authorities would decide.
It offers hope in a country grappling with surging COVID-19 infections and deaths, which are overwhelming hospitals and raising fears that things will only get worse as people gather over the holidays.