Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines Progressing Slowly

Boaz Fox ‘23

    In order to combat record-breaking COVID-19 daily cases, healthcare workers and federal agencies are working to distribute as many vaccines as possible. 
    The past months have been among the worst in the COVID-19 pandemic. On Jan. 8, the United States recorded the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 ever, with over 4,000 people dead in one day. 

    “We believe things will get worse,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at the time.
    Thankfully, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. After months of research and development, vaccines are finally ready to be rolled out. On Dec. 11, the Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, and on Dec.18, the FDA approved Moderna’s vaccine.
    However, this does not mean conditions will go back to normal anytime soon.
    “We’re still in the thick of things,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said. “[Having the vaccine] is really good news, but I think the next six, eight weeks are going to be really tough in New Jersey and in our country.”
    Vaccine distribution is not going well. Recently, news came to light that the Trump administration passed on an opportunity from Pfizer to get 100 million vaccines, enough to give 50 million people the necessary two doses.
    Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said that he is “not surprised” vaccine distribution is off to a “rocky” start.
Pfizer’s vaccine must be kept at -76 to -112 degrees when not in use, which is proving to be a serious issue for many areas. These ultra-cold temperatures can only be achieved with specialized refrigerators that cost thousands of dollars, something many rural and poorer areas cannot afford. And when the vaccine is removed from that ultra-cold storage, it will last only five days. For rural areas, it will be a challenge to distribute all of the vaccines in a shipment in that short period of time. 
In fact, in the United States, less than half of delivered vaccines have been administered. West Virginia has stood out by administering over 70 percent of the vaccines distributed to it, but that is only because it declined to be part of the federal distribution program and instead created its own distribution program.
Other countries are faring far better than the United States when it comes to their vaccine distribution programs. Israel has taken advantage of its military infrastructure and has vaccinated about one-third of its people, more than any other nation.
Thankfully, there isn’t only bad news. So far, hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers, long-term care patients, first responders and elderly people have been vaccinated. And that’s just the beginning.
“Once you get rolling and get some momentum, I think we can achieve 1 million [vaccines] a day or even more,” Dr. Fauci said. “[By early fall,] you could start thinking about some sense of normalcy.”
“We are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel,” sophomore Elias Kishelev said.
    It is also important to remember that those who have been vaccinated still have to social distance, wear a mask and avoid other people.
“If we don't do that, we lose probably the most powerful tool that we have in the fight against this virus,” Paul Offit, from the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said. 
    It is also important to remember that non-immunocompromised people also need to get vaccinated. If enough people are vaccinated, the virus will not be able to spread, due to a principle known as herd immunity. 
    “I feel optimistic,” sophomore Sara Feinseth said. “Hopefully I can get mine soon.”