Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
United States of America (USA) is preparing the distribution of the first million doses the Covid-19 vaccine Modern.
This was conveyed by a top US official, Saturday (19/12), several hours after the country issued a permit to use the vaccine. The US is one of the countries most affected by Covid-19 in the world.
“Distribution of the Moderna vaccine has started,” said General Gus Perna, who oversees large-scale logistical operations as part of the government’s Operation Warp Speed.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced late Friday that it had given emergency approval for the vaccine, a week after doing the same with vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech.
On Saturday, the first dose was moved from a manufacturing center in Bloomington, Indiana, to a warehouse operated by logistics company McKesson in preparation for delivery on Sunday.
“The boxes are being packed and loaded today. The trucks will start rolling out tomorrow from FedEx and UPS,” the general said at a press conference.
The Pfizer vaccine should be stored at -70 degrees Celsius, a temperature much lower than a standard refrigerator. Thus, this forces companies to develop special containers for transportation.
However, Moderna vaccine can be stored at -20 degrees Celsius, making it easier to provide a storage area for the vaccine.
Perna said Moderna’s lighter storage requirements allow vaccine distribution to hard-to-reach areas in smaller, more rural areas.
According to him, since the FDA gave the emergency authorization of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine one week ago, about 2.9 million doses have been deployed in the US.
The US government also hopes to deliver 20 million doses of vaccine by the end of this year. However, this target could only be achieved in the first week of January.
(ex / ex)
– .
