Originally published on December 13, 2020 9:03 pm
With the U.S. death toll at about 300,000, the first doses of the first authorized COVID-19 vaccine are officially en route to distribution centers across the country.
Federal officials authorized emergency use of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine on Friday night, setting in motion the logistically challenging process of getting the first doses to states safely and quickly.
On Saturday, Army Gen. Gustave Perna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, said shipping containers were being packed at a Pfizer facility. From there, he said, the vaccines would be sent to UPS and FedEx hubs, and then to 636 predetermined sites, with 145 sites expected to receive their shipments on Monday.