Finally, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Recent data from drugmakers Moderna and Pfizer show their experimental COVID-19 vaccines could prove over 90% effective in preventing the virus. If all goes as planned, millions of people could be inoculated by the end of this year alone.
But there’s a lot to overcome before we get past this pandemic -- and experts are already warning us that distributing the COVID-19 vaccine will be one of the most complex logistical challenges this country has faced since World War II.
Almost nobody has the capacity to keep Pfizer’s vaccine as cold as necessary -- nearly negative 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or “20 degrees colder than extreme winter temperatures at the South Pole,” as CBS News explains it. Both of these vaccines will require doses 3 to 4 weeks apart, and there’s scant infrastructure to ensure someone who gets in the door once will come back at the right time. And on top of that, millions of rural Americans will be difficult to reach, even as they are dying at nearly 3.5 times the rate of their urban counterparts.
Unfortunately, Congress hasn’t shown any sign that it’s ready to provide the billions of dollars that our state and local health officials need to make this operation possible. Mississippi’s state health officer puts it best: “We absolutely do not have enough to pull this off successfully.” And crunch time is approaching, so we need to know now:
Should Congress fund states’ vaccine distribution efforts?
Thanks for making your voice heard today.
