covid-19 vaccine: When and how do you get it 2020?

With the first covid vaccine released in mid-December, over 3 million of these doses are undergoing distribution all over the United States. And since these vaccines need to be kept at very low temperatures, they are being stored in cooled packages and are being distributed all throughout multiple states like California, Utah, Nevada, and others stated via truck and cargo plane where their temperature can be maintained. Citizens won’t have to worry since the packages all have thermal sensors that track the state of the vaccine at all times.

Sadly COVID vaccine news states that cases during this pandemic have risen to over 18 million alone in the United States and a lot of people are concerned about their safety and possible harmful effects that the virus brings to the body.

Because of this, a vaccine for COVID 19 is in demand. To help its people, the second COVID 19 vaccine “Moderna” was given emergency use authorization which means that this COVID 19 vaccine can now be used outside of clinical trials for the very first time. 

Health care workers will be administering these COVID 19 vaccines on Monday which is reassuring as it gives the people more chances of fighting the virus and the pandemic.

Vaccine Efficacy

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Moderna COVID 19 vaccines were found to be very effective when dealing with the virus. Clinical trials involving 30,351 participants who were given either a placebo or the vaccine^[1] showed positive results to the COVID 19 doses.

The CDC states that people who took 2 doses of the COVID 19 vaccine Moderna showed reduced risks of symptoms for the COVID 19 virus as well as reduced risks of being hospitalized because of COVID 19.

Additionally, the clinical trials involving Modena show that the 2 dose vaccination regimen against COVID 19 symptoms is very effective with an overall efficacy rating of 94.1%. The CDC also states the consistent efficacy of the vaccination process is greater than 86% for people of different ages, race, sex, and ethnicity.

Is the Moderna Vaccine Safe?

Knowing that the vaccine is effective in helping with the pandemic is good news to a lot of people. But they are still concerned about its safety. Is the vaccine safe for the immune system? Does it have any negative side effects? 

Well according to the FDA^[2] (Food And Drug Administration) the Moderna Vaccine does have some side effects. People can experience health side effects on their body like muscle pains, joint pains, headaches, tiredness, vomiting, nausea, and even results that affect the immune system like swollen lymph nodes.

What’s interesting to take note of here is that individuals who have experienced any of these problems on their body tend to get these symptoms after their second dose so it’s best to prepare yourself for these health problems if you’re planning to take the vaccine.

Can Covid Vaccine Stocks Be Easily Distributed All Over the Country?

Distribution of COVID vaccines all over the country will be difficult as it is in need to be in a proper condition for it to efficiently combat the pandemic.  According to the CDC, the vaccine needs preserving in cold temperatures preferably between -25°C to -15°C if you want to transport it over long distances.

The vaccine on its own will most likely last up to 12 hours at room temperature.  Furthermore, these vaccines can only last up to 30 days even when refrigerated properly which means that public health needs to work quickly if it wants to efficiently help everyone one by one. 

The First One to Get Vaccination 

The answer to who gets vaccination first depends on the person’s risk to COVID 19 as well as their occupation. So healthcare workers who have been putting themselves at risk every day for the sake of others. These people get to be administered by the COVID 19 vaccines 1st.

After the healthcare workers, we have the elderly who are very susceptible to COVID 19. Adults older than 75 years old as well as frontline essential workers get first priority when it comes to COVID 19 vaccinations.

Asides from health workers and first responders, frontline essential workers are defined^[3] as people who are at risk of exposure to COVID 19 because of their jobs.  So this means individuals working in agriculture, child care, grocery stores, food production, public transit, US Postal service, and other similar occupations that are essential for society. 

Next on the list, we have individuals who have a high risk to Covid 19 because of their medical conditions as well as elderly adults aged between 65 to 75 years old. The condition and state of their health can put them at risk of COVID 19 and having them use COVID 19 vaccines may help prevent all of them from developing symptoms of the virus. 

After the elderly and people with medical conditions, we have the “other essential workers”. Other essential workers are defined as individuals working in logistics, food delivery, construction, finance, sanitation, public health, water industries, media, engineers, law, and information technology. They constitute nearly 57 million Americans and a small majority of its citizens.

When Is Covid 19 Vaccine Available at Scale? 

It’s really hard to tell when the COVID 19 vaccines will be available to the general public since there are too many variables that affect it. But according to former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the vaccines would be available to the public by late spring if everything goes well and according to schedule.

In his words, he stated that realistically, it’s best to assume that it will be available for everyone to use by mid-summer to early fall.

Recent news of the vaccine shows that the vaccines will arrive by the end of july as the federal government has ordered 200 million vaccines both from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. Additionally, government officials have filed for a public meeting on February 26 reviewing the request for more vaccines. If all goes well then the US can expect more vaccines to come so we may not have to wait for long.

How to Fasten the Phases?

Supply and demand determine how fast a person has access to vaccines. The Executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, Claire Hannan states the demand for the Moderna vaccines is higher than Pfizer vaccines. 

A lot of healthcare workers are eager to get their hands on it and they are taking pictures in line while getting it. If the supply exceeds the demand for the vaccines then it may reach the general public sooner than expected.

What Can States Do About It?

Clair Hannan says that each state has its own way of prioritizing who gets the vaccines first and it will determine the speed that it is distributed. States have the choice to prioritize the elderly or focus on the essential workers keeping everything together. It just depends on their discretion and their priorities.

Hannan also states that the ones making these decisions will most likely be the state governors and she hopes that they don’t get too political about their decisions.

Vaccination Results

Based on data gathered^[4] by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention); As of February 18, 2021 over 41 million people have received vaccination from either Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. 57.7 million doses have been administered overall.  The vaccination process has also shown that over 1.6 million people are being vaccinated daily which shows promising results in the future. 

conclusion

With the rising rate of Americans afflicted by the pandemic, any source of COVID vaccine is valuable. And although Moderna’s results from tests are very effective in dealing with COVID 19 symptoms it still hasn’t undergone a lot of testing which can be risky for people undergoing vaccination.

The demand for Modera is very high and hopefully, everyone has access to the vaccine by the end of next year.

Frequently Asked Questions

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