General. Gustav Perna, He oversees logistics for Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s efforts to speed up treatments and vaccines, he told reporters Friday night.

This amount covers only a fraction of the country’s 20 million health care workers, out of a population of 330 million Americans. Perna said the “regular drumbeat” will deliver extra doses as production capacity increases each week in a row.

U.S. government officials are on track to do so 40 million dose vaccines By the end of this year, 20 million people will be vaccinated by Pfizer and the second biotech company, Modona. (Two doses are needed for each vaccine.) It may be April before the general public begins vaccination.

The initial batch of 6.4 million doses includes vaccines that go to five federal agencies – the Bureau of Prisons, the Departments of Defense and the State, the Indian Health Service and the Veterans Health Administration – receiving direct funding from the federal government.

States and territories now have the information they need to “plan and find out where the vaccine should be delivered” in the first export, Perna said. States must determine their top five sites capable of receiving and controlling Pfizer vaccine, It should be kept at a temperature of minus -70 Celsius (minus -94 Fahrenheit) and have proper handling protocols. Most vaccines have temperatures below 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit), far below the ultracold temperature level.

Many states have designated large hospital systems as the first places to receive vaccines because of the availability of ultracold freezers and the effective immunization of many people. The minimum order for Pfizer Wax is 975 doses; For Modona, the minimum order is 100, with a storage temperature that such freezers do not require.

Once the FDA has wiped out a vaccine, an independent advisory board of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Advisory Committee on Immunization Measures – A public meeting will be held within 48 hours to vote on the final recommendations for the use of the vaccine, who will get the first shots.

The team said health care workers are the first priority. This first phase is likely to include up to 3 million residents with long-term care facilities. The first column will have 87 million other essential workers, including first responders, teachers, and grocery workers; More than 100 million adults with high-risk medical conditions; And 53 million adults over the age of 65.

Doses will be “pre-arranged” at the proposed sites within 24 hours of the start of the FDA procedure Each state To give shots to the first groups.

Perna said Pfizer performs dry runs at every stage from vaccine delivery to opening of GPS-tracked special containers to vaccine storage. The company started operations last week Four states – Rhode Island, Texas, New Mexico, Tennessee – To introduce officers with storage and handling requirements. These dry runs do not include real vaccines or dry iso used to cool bottles. Additional rehearsals for the coming weeks will include dry ice, federal health officials said. They have no right to speak in public when talking about the state of anonymity.

“Lessons learned” are shared with other officials, Perna said. There was “initial reluctance” from some of the officials on the sites, but “we hope it will boost the confidence of the people who use it.”

Americans are born with the vaccine. The Federal Government Most of the delivery and vaccine administration costs are borne. But Funding This remains a major problem for state and local officials, who are demanding at least $ 8 billion from Congress for immunizations; Date, Million 200 million Sent to state, local, and local authorities to assist in the preparation of federal funds. Federal authorities are sending another $ 140 million in December.

Jeff Duchin, a senior official at the Seattle and King County Department of Health, said more than $ 10 billion in taxpayers’ money spent on developing Operation Warp Speed ​​corona virus vaccines was appropriate.

“But it’s like Operation Status Quo, which deals with the federal funding of state and local health departments to get the vaccine to as many people as possible, including the primary priority population,” he said. An email Tuesday.

State and local officials say the critical planning and implementation activities required for distribution are not adequately funded or staffed. That work involves planning with a wide range of health care providers to provide the necessary training and upgrade information systems. Ineligible population, Said Duchin.

Health care providers need to track allowed allocations and vaccinations, and ensure that people return to the second dose. Public health officials and local communities need to be contacted Lazy to get vaccinated, He said.

“Our country and state needs millions of dollars for this work,” he said. “In addition, local and state public health departments and workers have been assigned this task, and they have been clinging and smoking with this pandemic nonstop for months.”