First COVID-19 Vaccine Shipments Reach Distribution Sites, Inoculation Could Start Monday
UPS employees move one of two shipping containers containing the first shipments of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on a ramp at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday, December 13, 2020. Michael Clevenger - Pool/Getty Images

The country has made strides in its COVID-19 vaccine effort over the weekend as vials of the long-anticipated shot made their way to distribution sites on Sunday.

Fox Business reported that the first truck carrying the COVID-19 vaccine reached the distribution site pulled up in Portage, Michigan on Sunday morning.

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine rollout is the first to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It starts the country's historic effort in distribution across hospitals and health departments, an effort that health officials hoped will be embraced by the public.

According to the Associated Press, the first to get the shots are health care workers and nursing home residents. They will likely get their first dose by Monday.

Fran Hixson, director of clinical quality at Chesterfield, told Bloomberg about his excitement on Sunday.

"We've learned along the way how we can protect ourselves from the virus, and adding a vaccine to our toolbox is a very exciting time for us to be moving this ahead," he said.

Quick Transport Needed for COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

An important factor in the distribution of vaccines is speed. Given that the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine has to be stored at extremely low temperatures - about 94 degrees below zero - it must be transported quickly.

The loading process started on early Sunday, with Pfizer workers dressed in fluorescent yellow clothing, hard hats, and gloves packing the vaccine's vials into boxes.

Each package was placed into freezer cases with dry ice, then sent to Portage, Michigan, where the first cargo plane to distribute it took off.

USA Today said in its report that there was a caravan of FedEx, UPS, and Boyle Transportation trucks alongside unmarked police cars pulling out of the Kalamazoo, Michigan manufacturing plant at 8:25 a.m. that day. All headed to airports and distribution centers.

As the deliveries are staggered, there are 145 shipments expected in distribution centers on Monday, 425 on Tuesday, and another 66 on Wednesday.

FedEx Express is expected to deliver some 600 packages of the vaccine across distribution sites in the country.

"This is a historic day," Richard W. Smith, who oversees operations of the delivery service in the Americas, told Associated Press.

United Parcel Service is also going to deliver a share of the vaccine.Initial shipments of about three million doses will be tracked using GPS-enabled sensors and given out based on a state's adult population. States will then decide who to prioritize during distribution.

Some Still Doubt Rush for COVID-19 Vaccine

Despite the rise in coronavirus cases across the country, many still expressed concern about the vaccine's safety.

According to a survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about half of Americans want to get vaccinated.

However, a quarter of the population still isn't sure, and the remaining quarter said they don't want to get inoculated at all.

Even several health care workers who are at high risk of contracting the virus are hesitant to get vaccinated first.

Some are still concerned that with the short time-frame, the vaccines had been made. So they want to see how the rollout goes first.

Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the chief science adviser to Operation Warp Speed, said he was also "very concerned" about the skepticism but guaranteed that they "follow the science" during vaccine development.