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We don’t know when a COVID-19 vaccine will arrive, but we’re starting to know how it will be distributed.Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/health-news/mind-bogglingly-complex-heres-what-we-know-about-how-covid-vaccine-will-be-distributed-when-its-approved/ar-BB18L0hZ?ocid=DE_20200907_ENUS_coronavirus_2All the vaccine supplied in the initial phases will be purchased by the U.S. government and
no one will be charged for the actual dose. As of early September, it
wasn’t clear if clinics would be allowed to charge an administration fee to those getting their shots. If one was charged, it's not clear whether insurance could be reimbursed for it if the vaccine is issued under an Emergency Use Authorization, CDC documents say.
At least at the beginning, vaccine is expected to be in short supply, though CDC planning documents say significantly more will be available by January 2021.
CDC is still finalizing who will be eligible to be vaccinated first, but from meetings of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, it appears front-line medical workers, first-responders and people at high risk for severe disease will get first dibs.
There are dozens of experimental COVID-19 vaccines being developed in the United States and beyond, seven of which have been funded at least in part by the U.S. government. All but one will require two doses, given 21 or 28 days apart. People getting vaccinated will get a COVID-19 vaccination record card that will tell them which vaccine they got, when they got it and when they should get their next shot, CDC planning documents show.
Currently, two of the seven vaccine candidates are seen as the front-runners because they are in Phase 3 clinical trials, the make-or-break, large-scale tests in humans that determine if a vaccine works or not. They are being manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna. The two vaccines must be stored at different temperatures and so will be distributed slightly differently. A third, from AstraZeneca in the United Kingdom, also is in Phase 3 trials but doesn't appear to be part of CDC's initial planning scenarios.
An initial vaccination planHere’s how it would work:
Medical offices, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and other groups that want to vaccinate people for COVID-19 need to first enroll in the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program They’ll sign an agreement with CDC and prove they have the space, the necessary equipment and properly trained staff to administer the shots.
Because the requirements for storing, handling and administering the shots are so challenging, the government will prioritize getting vaccine to sites that can reach large numbers of priority populations and vaccinate lots of people quickly, CDC documents say.