Five federal agencies have told their workers that they could begin to receive Pfizer's or Moderna's vaccine against the Coronavirus in as little as eight weeks. CNBC. Federal workers are expected to be the 2nd in line after critical health care workers. Workers who are older then 70 or have underlying health conditions might get their vaccination even earlier then that. The timing will depend on how fast the FDA approves the two vaccinations for use, with both companies filling for approval today, with a failure to approve obviously changing the timetable. The five agencies listed by the source include the Department of Defense, State, Bureau of Prisons, Indian Health Service and the Veterans Health Administration. The FDA process is expected to take a few weeks and it is expected that the first doses will be given in about a month.
My Comment:
The timetable here is encouraging. The article mentions that these federal agencies will receive their vaccines after medical workers and the countries most vulnerable people. If that is the case it means that those people will be protected by January, which will be a huge boon to the country.
I do have to caution though, that only the Bureau of Prisons confirmed this report. The source was anonymous which is always worth raising a red flag. And it's also possible that the source was being honest but a lot could change in the next eight weeks to say the least. But since the Bureau of Prisons did confirm some of the story I do think it's probably legit.
I think the timetable is correct. I know that both Pfizer and Moderna actually have a large stockpile of the vaccine already, thanks to operation Warp Speed. Those doses are bought and paid for and only have to be transported to wherever they are going to be administered. That's a minor problem with the Pfizer vaccine as it requires cold storage but it should be done fairly quickly.
I do think that the priorities are correct here. The first people that should get the vaccine are those who are most vulnerable. Health care workers are obviously at a higher risk of contracting the disease since they are on the front lines. After that are people who are elderly or have a weekend immune system since they are about the only people who actually die from the virus. Then it should be people who are critical workers who help keep America going and that includes workers with the Federal Government. And after that it should be the general population.
I do say that on a personal level this timeline is a bit disappointing. I'm a worker in a critical industry and I was hoping to get my vaccination before the year was out but I don't think that's likely now. I certainly agree that health care workers and the most vulnerable people should get the vaccine first but I am eager to return to some semblance of a normal life.
I don't think there is any real question now that both vaccines will be approved. From what I have seen they appear to be effective and at least appear safe. I do have reservations but given the absolute stupidity of circumstances I am more then ready to have the vaccine be administered.
As for the timeline if this report is correct and there are no major setbacks I think it plays out like this. One month for health car workers and the most vulnerable, eight weeks for critical workers in the Federal government and probably twelve to sixteen for everyone else. Plus I have to note that's just when each phase starts, it will take a long time to get everyone vaccinated.
Regardless, this is a positive story. I am hoping that if we can keep to the schedule Coronavirus will be under control by late spring/early summer or maybe even before then. With the large number of active infections and the advent of a vaccine I don't think the virus will be able to survive much longer. It needs fresh hosts to live and it looks like one way or another there won't be many people to infect in a reasonably short period of time.
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