US begins COVID-19 vaccinations

A New York City intensive care unit nurse on Monday became the first person in the US to receive a coronavirus vaccine.

Sandra Lindsay was inoculated at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in the New York City borough of Queens, an early epicentre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak.

“It didn’t feel any different from taking any other vaccine,” Lindsay said. “I feel hopeful today, relieved. I feel like healing is coming. I hope this marks the beginning of the end of a very painful time in our history.

“I want to instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe,” she added.

Similar scenes played out at select hospitals in other cities.

“It’s been an incredible morning. It’s historic,” said Dr Leonardo Seoane after he received a shot at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, where he has led some of the clinical trials that found the vaccine 95 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 illness.

The first US coronavirus immunisations outside of clinical trials were part of a broad campaign by public health authorities and political leaders to reassure Americans of the vaccine’s safety as they launched a national immunisation programme of unprecedented scope.

Developed by Pfizer and German partner BioNTech, the vaccine, given as two doses three weeks apart, won US emergency-use authorisation on Friday.

By day’s end on Monday, vaccine shipments had made it to nearly all of the 145 US distribution sites pre-selected to receive the initial batch of doses, with a number of major hospital systems launching immunisations immediately.

“This is a race against time,” said Greg Adams, chairman and CEO of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.

US officials said no major hiccups were reported. US Army General Gustave Perna said on a call with reporters that severe storms forecast this week could potentially hamper rounds of shipments to another 491 locations.

The process of shipping the first 2.9 million doses of vaccine began on Sunday, 11 months after the US documented its first case of COVID-19.

The initial doses have been earmarked for healthcare professionals and nursing home residents, with essential workers, elderly people and individuals with chronic health conditions next in line.

As part of a national security protocol aimed at ensuring continuity of government in the event of an emergency, senior leaders in the executive branch, Congress and judiciary were also being offered early vaccines.

Chris Miller, Acting Defense Secretary got his on Monday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, apparently, the first Cabinet-level official inoculated.

It will take months before vaccines become widely available to the public at large, and health officials have warned Americans to remain diligent about social distancing and the wearing of face masks to curb virus transmissions.

The first US vaccine shipments departed Pfizer’s facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, packed into trucks with dry-ice to maintain the cargo at its required sub-Arctic temperature. Driven to airfields in Lansing and Grand Rapids, the shipments were then flown by UPS and FedEx planes to cargo hubs in Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee.

From there, they were trucked or flown to the first 145 vaccine-staging areas across the country. Second and third waves were due to go to 491 remaining sites on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Governors in 26 states and territories were deploying National Guard troops to assist in the operation, the Guard said.

Dr Anthony Fauci, US top infectious disease expert told that Americans with no heightened risk factors could expect to get vaccinated by late March or early April.

Moncef Slaoui, top adviser of US Operation Warp Speed said the plan is to have about 40 million vaccine doses – enough for 20 million people – distributed by year’s end.

That would include vaccines from both Pfizer and Moderna. An outside US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel is scheduled to review the Moderna vaccine on Thursday, with emergency use expected to be granted shortly thereafter.

(Edits by EP News Bureau)