By Alicia Ault, WEBMD HEALTH NEWS
Dec. 11, 2020 -- The federal government says it will distribute only enough doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to immunize 2.9 million Americans in the first week after the FDA authorizes it, far less than the initially discussed 6.4 million doses.
Theoretically, states have already formulated plans for distribution based on the revised lower amount. But in a briefing with reporters on Dec. 9, officials from Operation Warp Speed and the Department of Health and Human Services didn't make clear exactly what – or how many doses -- the states were expecting.
Vaccines will be shipped to and allocated by 64 states and jurisdictions and five federal agencies — the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Indian Health Service, and the Veterans Health Administration — according to the CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook.
It will be up to states — which will receive a supply based on population — and these agencies to determine how to prioritize distribution of the 2.9 million doses. Each state and agency has its own plan. Gen. Gustave Perna, the chief operating officer for Operation Warp Speed, said in the briefing that 30 states have told the federal government they will prioritize initial doses for residents and staff of long-term care facilities.
The distribution is contingent on FDA authorization of the vaccine. The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biologics Advisory Committee recommended Thursday that the agency grant emergency authorization. The FDA could issue a decision at any time.
Fewer Doses Out of the Gate
Perna said the federal government will begin shipping the Pfizer vaccine within 24 hours of an FDA authorization.
He said those shipments will include a total of 2.9 million doses — not the 6.4 million that will be available. The government is holding 500,000 doses in reserve and another 2.9 million to guarantee that the 1.45 million people who are vaccinated will be able to receive a requiredsecond dose 21 days later, said Perna.
Federal officials have calculated how much to hold back on the basis of Pfizer's production, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said at the briefing. At least initially, "We will not distribute a vaccine knowing that the booster will not be available either from reserve supply by us or ongoing expected predicted production," he said.
Even with Pfizer having reduced its estimates of how much vaccine it can deliver in December, Azar said, "There will be enough vaccine available for 20 million first vaccinations in the month of December."
That estimate is predicated, however, on a vaccine being developed by Moderna gaining clearance shortly after the FDA assesses its safety and effectiveness Dec. 17.