Where’s my chance? Why the launch of the COVID vaccine is so challenging

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How do I get the COVID-19 vaccine? Your questions answered

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While the coronavirus pandemic spreads around the world, there is a light shining at the end of the tunnel. Vaccines for COVID-19 have proven to be highly effective in protecting against serious illness and death and will be the key to getting out of this global crisis.

But in the United States, approval of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines is only half the battle. Health officials still need to deploy these vaccines across the country, distributing doses through a patchwork of different state and local health systems and ensuring that vaccines reach the arms of Americans as quickly as possible.

Marcus Plescia is the medical director of the Association of State and Territory Health Officials, the national organization that represents more than 100,000 public health officials in the United States, as well as the agencies for which they work.

According to Plescia, distributing the vaccine to Americans is an enormous task, involving national logistics and aging public health data systems. But while there are a number of factors that hinder rapid implementation, he says there is a major problem that has hindered the early days of the vaccine program.

“The main bottleneck at the moment with the vaccine effort is the supply of the vaccine,” Plescia told CNET.

“For a start, we knew there would be a limited supply … but I think a lot of people are losing track of the fact that we only have 40 or 50 million doses now and have already promised that to more people than that.”

One of the main weaknesses for Americans at the moment is knowing when and where they can get the vaccine. Part of this is due to the lack of available doses, but the scale of implantation in 50 states has also caused problems.

According to Plescia, the federal government is responsible for buying the vaccine from suppliers and then distributing the doses to the states. States then decide who is vaccinated and in what order (largely based on guidelines provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), before distributing doses to local health officials. Local health officials also need to send information back to jail about who is being vaccinated and where more doses are needed. But the public health data systems used to share this information are not as effective as they could be.

Add to that vaccines that require ultracold refrigeration and the need for two doses, and the release has been slower than originally expected.

But there are also some good signs. The Biden government has increased its orders from Pfizer and Moderna, bringing the total count to 600 million, and new vaccine candidates may be approved in the US soon.

“I think that in March, April, we should see significant changes,” said Plescia. “First of all, there should be a lot more vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna available to people. And then both AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson are about to present their vaccines for approval by the Food and Drug Administration … at that point, I think everyone will realize that things will get better. “

Plescia shared more insights into the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine, including how states are allocating vaccines and the best ways to find information about consultations. You can check out what he has to say in the video above.

What now is a series of video interviews with industry leaders, celebrities and influencers that covers trends that impact companies and consumers amid the “new normal”. There will always be changes in our world and we will be here to discuss how to navigate through it all.

The information in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended for medical or health advice. Always consult a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health goals.