The first batches of Moderna’s COVID-19 shot began leaving warehouses early Sunday – expanding vaccination efforts to end the pandemic in the US.
McKesson Corp, which distributes the vaccine, said in a statement around 6 a.m. that they had started the launch of COVID-19 shots and additional stock kits.
Shipments of the vaccine arrived at distribution centers Saturday to be packaged in containers and loaded onto trucks after the Food and Drug Administration issued emergency drug use clearance.
The vaccine is expected to be rolled out to more than 3,700 locations in that country.
The US government has said it plans to distribute 5.9 million Moderna injections this week, in addition to the 2 million from Pfizer, the first vaccine approved in the US.
US Army General Gustave Perna told reporters that Moderna’s first boxes are expected to arrive at health care providers Monday.
Some states have chosen Moderna’s vaccine for hard-to-reach rural areas because they can be stored in standard-temperature refrigerators for 30 days – unlike Pfizer’s, which must ship at -94 degrees Fahrenheit and can only be stored for five days in standard refrigerator temperatures .
With pole wires