Wall Street Journal: The human and physical logistics behind COVID vaccine rollouts

UC emergency medicine expert shares insight on how COVID-19 vaccines will be distributed

As states and hospitals in the United States race to roll out the first COVID-19 vaccines, the Wall Street Journal talked to a hospital administrator and immunization expert about the logistical challenges involved in this first phase of the vaccination process.

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Dustin Calhoun, MD, of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the UC College of Medicine. Photo/Colleen Kelley/ UC Creative + Brand

University of Cincinnati Medical Center will be one of the locations distributing the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Dustin Calhoun, MD, in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the UC College of Medicine, says in Ohio, the vaccine will be distributed in lots of 975 doses. 

"The prepositioning sites will probably be receiving one package each initially, and then significantly larger amounts flowing after that," says Calhoun. "Any facility that needs a smaller amount than the 975 of the Pfizer vaccine, will be receiving it after it is re-processed through the state of Ohio into smaller lots of about 100 doses."

Calhoun says the initial rollout of the vaccine to frontline health care workers will help guide the process of giving it to the general population once the vaccine is more widely available. 

Watch the full video report here

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