The campaign is “much larger in scope and complexity than seasonal influenza or other vaccination responses related to previous outbreaks,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention manual for states.
The double dose vaccine must come from the same drug manufacturer. There may be multiple vaccines from different manufacturers approved and available.
Initially, there may be a limited supply of available vaccines, and attention will be paid to the protection of health care workers, other essential employees and people in vulnerable groups. In the second and third stages, vaccination will be spread across the country.
The vaccine itself will be free and patients will not be charged out of pocket for administering injections, thanks to billions of dollars in taxpayer funds approved by Congress and allocated by the Trump administration.
States and local communities will need to design precise plans to obtain and distribute vaccines locally, some of which will require special handling, such as refrigeration or freezing. States and cities have one month to submit schemes.
The distribution is taking place under the umbrella of Operation Warp Speed, an initiative backed by the White House to have millions of doses ready for shipment once a vaccine is administered, which is expected to be an emergency use approval by from the Food and Drug Administration. . . . Several formulations are undergoing final testing.
Since the poll, questions have only grown about whether the administration is trying to speed up COVID-19 treatments and vaccines to help President Donald Trump’s chances of reelection.
Prior to the Republican National Convention in August, the FDA approved authorization for the treatment of COVID-19 patients with plasma of those recovered, although some government scientists were not sure that the clinical evidence was strong enough. And last week it was reported that Michael Caputo, a politician appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services, sought editorial control over a weekly scientific publication from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As public confidence in major health agencies has suffered, Trump administration officials have been forced to play defensively.
