President Joe Biden’s promise that 100 million Americans would be vaccinated in their first 100 days in office is almost complete. This week, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine launch added to the arsenal.
For the people who dispatched that vaccine, it was a very special delivery.
At McKesson, the company that distributes the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the first shipments on Monday brought hope and a message. The first one said: “First J&J package – stay healthy.”
Kamryn Brown, a Kentucky facility supervisor who handled vaccine shipments, told CBS News: “It all started with our great COO. After that, we all took turns signing our own messages and names. Mine it was ‘Get vaccinated. Love Kamryn.’ “
Brown and the other supervisors, including Kristi Larson, signed the first box.
“It was a moment of humility, knowing that we now had the vaccine in our hands and that we could dispatch it to so many people,” said Larson. “I think I cried half the time.”
With a regular dose and refrigeration, this vaccine can reach community health centers and rural areas of America more easily. That is why, for Brown, this is not a job – it is a mission.
“For me, it’s like I’m one of the frontline troops against the war in COVID,” she said.
And these troops are training. Before FDA approval, they performed exercises using soap boxes similar in size to vaccine packaging.
“We practice with Irish Spring soap to prepare for when we start taking orders,” said Larson. She added, “It smelled really good.”
The FDA signed and they signed their names too.
“I hope that when they saw that message, they knew that we care and that we will definitely continue to strive to make sure they are well vaccinated, well-stocked and that we will kick this COVID in the ass,” said Brown.