How fast can we actually get a vaccine after it gets approved?

In the last couple of weeks, we have seen that major developments have been made towards a COVID vaccine. At least, three large pharmaceutical companies have announced successful tests and their approval seems to be just a couple of weeks away. In the UK, one company already got the approval from the government and vaccination should start soon. But the vaccine approval is just the beginning of a logistic nightmare that our health professionals and public officials will face. From special freezers to potential syringe shortage the next months will show us how soon we’ll be getting the vaccine.

In the early months of the pandemic, the lack of available ventilators and PPE brought the entire response to COVID to a halt. The inaction of the Federal policies combined with disrupted supply chains are making specialists concerned on how we are actually prepared for the vaccine’s distribution. 

Why is it so challenging?

The three vaccines, waiting for approval, require a double dosage. Two of them need to be stored in minus 96F degrees to work. Delays in the production are already expected. And only 58 percent of the population are willing to take it. Since summer, supplier of glass vials have ramped production. Vaccination kits, that include syringes and needles, have also been produced to fulfill the upcoming demand. But delays in vaccine production have already been announced.  According to Vox Media, suppliers and experts affirm that while distributing Covid-19 vaccines will take a significant amount of coordination, we shouldn’t expect widespread shortages of any needed materials — if everything goes as planned. The vaccines from both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna require two shots given weeks apart, which is certain to make the logistics even more complicated. And underlying the whole effort is a fear of waste and the idea that precious vaccine doses could go bad due to logistical failures.

In smaller cities and rural areas, storage and appropriate staff might be a problem also. If everything works out, we’ll still have the biggest challenge to face; millions of Americans don’t even believe that COVID is a real problem. Vaccination campaigns will have to created and properly rolled out to make people line up for the cure.

Vaccine distribution will be a very challenging process and we’ll try to keep up to date.