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 Distribution of the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and German
partner BioNTech SE began on Monday, three days after it won U.S.
emergency-use authorization, opening a new front in the battle
against a pandemic claiming more than 2,400 U.S. lives a day.
Political leaders and medical authorities have launched a
two-pronged media blitz avowing the safety of the vaccines while
urging Americans to remain diligent about social distancing and
mask-wearing until inoculations become widely available.
"As a polio survivor, I am a huge supporter of vaccinations.
Whenever my turn comes, I will absolutely take the vaccine and do my
part to reassure anyone who’s doubtful. It’s the right thing to do
for yourself, for your family, and for the country," Senate
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter.
At University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, emergency room nurse
Maritza Beniquez on Tuesday became the first person in that state to
receive the vaccine in one of numerous such made-for-TV moments
playing out across the country.
"I couldn't wait for this moment to hit New Jersey. I couldn't wait
for it to hit the U.S.," Beniquez said as she was vaccinated with
Governor Phil Murphy looking on.
Initial doses have been earmarked for doctors, nurses and other
front-line medical professionals, along with residents and staff of
nursing homes. Other essential workers, senior citizens and
individuals with chronic medical conditions will be next in line.
It will take several months, perhaps until late spring, before
vaccines can be obtained on demand by the public at large, U.S.
officials have said.
In the meantime, a surge of infections and hospitalizations -
approaching 111,000 patients in treatment on Tuesday - continued to
strain healthcare systems to the brink of collapse in cities and
rural areas across the country.
Nationwide, the highly contagious respiratory virus has killed
301,085 people and infected at least 16.5 million as of Monday,
according to a Reuters tally of official data.
REFRIGERATOR UNITS, BODY BAGS
In California, where many hospitals had little or no capacity
available in their intensive care units, the state has ordered
scores of refrigerator storage trailers for corpses and distributed
5,000 body bags to San Diego, Los Angeles and Inyo counties,
Governor Gavin Newsom said.
Newsom said the state also has activated mass-fatality compacts
among county coroners and opened discussions with the federal
government about sending a military medical ship back to the shores
of the hard-hit state.
A bipartisan group of seven governors - from Illinois, Michigan,
Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin - released a joint
video on social media on Tuesday urging residents to avoid
unnecessary travel and social gatherings outside their households
"until we eradicate this virus once and for all."
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 Another vaccine, from Moderna
Inc, appeared set for regulatory authorization
this week after U.S. Food and Drug
Administration staff endorsed it as safe and
effective in documents released on Tuesday.
Similar to the Pfizer vaccine, it requires two
doses several weeks apart.
By late on Monday, shipments of the Pfizer
vaccine, which requires sub-Arctic-level
refrigeration, had arrived at nearly all of the
145 U.S. distribution sites pre-selected to
receive the initial batch of doses.
A second round of shipments went out on Tuesday
destined for 425 more distribution hubs and a
third round was headed for 66 additional sites
on Wednesday. In all, U.S. officials aim to get
2.9 million doses delivered by week's end.
In addition to the logistical challenges posed by an inoculation
program of unparalleled scope - surpassing the childhood polio
immunization campaign of the 1950s and '60s - health authorities
face the monumental task of overcoming widespread skepticism about
vaccines in general.
Some Americans believe the pandemic is a hoax and reject public
health guidelines to wear masks and avoid crowds. Only 61% of
respondents in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll said they were open to
getting vaccinated.
While most vaccines take years to develop, the Pfizer vaccine
arrived less than a year after the illness was traced to a market in
Wuhan, China, late last year.
"People understandably are skeptical about the speed, but we have to
keep emphasizing speed means the science was extraordinary," Dr.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, told ABC News' "Good Morning America" on
Tuesday.
The pandemic has wreaked economic havoc as states and localities
imposed sweeping stay-at-home orders and closed businesses to tamp
down the contagion, putting millions out of work.
In Washington, McConnell told reporters lawmakers would not adjourn
for the year until they have agreed on a fresh package of
coronavirus relief for the unemployed and small businesses, which he
hoped could be attached to a larger government funding bill.
(Reporting by Eduardo Muñoz, Anurag Maan, Manas Mishra, Michael
Erman, Sharon Bernstein, Carl O'Connell and Daniel Trotta; Writing
by Daniel Trotta and Steve Gorman; Editing by Giles Elgood, Jonathan
Oatis, Howard Goller and Sonya Hepinstall)
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