The US government is optimistic about vaccines. By the end of May, there should be enough to vaccinate all adults in the country, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.
In addition, Americans are also feeling great about the vaccine. About 69% of Americans had already taken the vaccine or were willing to take it when they could, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center.
This is a great relief for public health experts. Last year, they saw the number of vaccine surveys drop dramatically in just four months. In September 2020, only half of the people interviewed said they would be willing to take a hypothetical vaccine. It’s not exactly surprising, given that at the time, the Trump administration promised to have vaccines in October, and people feared that the approval process would be influenced by politics. Now that vaccines are here – and real and effective – more people want to be vaccinated.
The next big challenge will be to actually put that ample supply of vaccine in these willing arms. And just because the government predicts it will have sufficient supplies guaranteed by May 31, it doesn’t mean that all adults in America will be vaccinated in the next 86 days.
“The vaccine race is now not a race outside the laboratory. It’s a race for the patient, ”said Robin Townley, head of logistics for special projects at AP Moller-Maersk, in an interview with Science News from December. “It is the biggest product launch in the history of mankind.”
The figurative “last mile” that separates the patient from his injection will be the most immersive part of the whole process. Sending large quantities of vaccines from a factory to a distribution center is relatively simple, even with some of the vaccines needing to remain extremely cold.
But then they have to go from big centers to pharmacies, nursing homes, mass vaccination sites, and anywhere else that gets vaccines. That means having enough delivery vehicles on the roads and enough space for clean freezers and refrigerators. It means backup generators and detailed communication plans for the inevitable moment when something goes wrong. It means finding better ways to schedule vaccine appointments so that people can access vaccine supplies. Above all, a trained and fast workforce will be needed, capable of safely transporting, storing and administering the vaccine.
Poor planning and delays contributed to the slowdown in launching in the United States earlier this year, when local authorities were left to decide distribution on their own. As mass vaccination sites are opened and supplies are growing, some of these delays are beginning to disappear. In December, the United States vaccinated just 2.8 million people, well below its target of 20 million people. Now, more than 82 million people have been vaccinated, with about 2 million injections administered every day, according to NPR.
In the coming months, what we should note is not only the number of vaccines available, but also the number of vaccines administered. It will still be a big challenge, but there is an end in sight. It can still be difficult to make travel plans and summer may be in the air – but And if vaccinations are going well, and And if we can contain the spread of highly transmissible variants (big if), this drop may seem much more normal.
Here’s what else happened this week.
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Long-term patients with COVID say they feel better after being vaccinated
Some patients who have been suffering from COVID symptoms for months are beginning to report to their doctors that they are feeling better after being vaccinated. The researchers want to gather more data to understand why. (Nicole Wetsman / The Verge)
Why virus variants have such strange names
The variant names of the coronavirus are chains of numbers and letters that are almost unpronounceable. Here’s why. (Supports Mandivalli and Benjamin Mueller / The New York Times)
Development
How Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine can reduce equity gaps
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be stored at a refrigerated temperature and requires only one dose. This makes it an attractive option for people who want to increase vaccine equality in the United States and around the world. These vaccines are also proving popular at vaccination sites across the country. (Nicole Wetsman / The Verge)
Biden says Merck will help produce Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine
Earlier this week, pharmaceutical company Merck agreed to start manufacturing its rival’s vaccine in an attempt to increase supplies later this year. (Berkeley Lovelace Jr / CNBC)
Perspectives
“Do you think Rip Van Winkle has had a hard time … I wake up and there is a pandemic. There is fear in people’s eyes. “
– Lawrence Garbuz, the first patient in the state of New York to become seriously ill with COVID-19 in his experience upon waking from a coma, as mentioned in Wall Street Newspaper.
“I started taking pictures because I needed to. I was photographing the experience of being a father during the pandemic and started making these portraits. I wasn’t thinking about where they were going, but I really needed to articulate something about what was going on. “
– Photographer Alice Proujansky in her project “Born in a Pandemic”. See her work at The Verge.
More than numbers
For the more than 115,913,859 people around the world who test positive, may their path to recovery be smooth.
To the family and friends of the 2,576,079 people who died worldwide – 522,221 of whom in the United States – their loved ones will not be forgotten.
Be safe, everyone.