Armed With Second COVID-19 Vaccine, U.S. to Start Moderna Vaccinations Today

The U.S. is set to begin vaccinations of healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents with the nation’s second authorized COVID-19 vaccine today, following the landmark authorization Friday of Moderna’s highly effective shot and its subsequent rollout over the weekend.

On Sunday, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expert panel recommended that people aged 75 and older and frontline essential workers will serve as the second priority group to receive either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. The first priority group was previously defined as frontline healthcare workers and nursing home residents and staff.

The CDC panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, added that the third priority group should comprise those aged 65 to 74 and those aged 16 to 64 considered to have high-risk medical conditions, as well as essential workers who didn’t participate in the second priority group.

With Friday’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA for the Moderna vaccine, the U.S. now has a critical second vaccine option that will help ease supply pressures on Pfizer/BioNTech and broaden the vaccination effort as infections rise throughout the country. The Moderna EUA was granted after the vaccines advisory committee voted almost unanimously — with just one abstention — in favor of the vaccine on Thursday (DID, Dec. 18).

In total, 5.9 million doses of Moderna’s two-shot vaccine, mRNA-1273, have gone out in the government’s initial allocation, as well as 2 million additional doses of Pfizer’s double-dose vaccine, BNT162b2. The first Moderna shots are expected to be given today.

“In total, between Pfizer and Moderna, we have allocated 7.9 million doses of vaccine and we are ready for that distribution. We will ship simultaneously to all 64 jurisdictions and five federal entities,” Gen. Gustave Perna, Operation Warp Speed’s chief operating officer, said Saturday. “Jurisdictions have already ordered the [Moderna] vaccine and we know it is going to 3,700 plus locations with more requests coming in every day.”

Moderna’s messenger RNA-based vaccine is nearly as effective as Pfizer’s, a shot based on the same technology, with both clocking in around 95 percent efficacy. But the Moderna vaccine holds an advantage in its significantly more managable temperature requirements that make it easier to distribute and store. Neither Pfizer nor Moderna have released details on why the storage requirements are different for their vaccines even though they’re based on the same technology.

Specifically, the Moderna vaccine is shipped at -4 F (Fahrenheit), a standard freezer temperature, and can be kept at that temperature for up to six months. It can also be kept at standard refrigerator temperatures (36 F to 46 F) for up to 30 days. Distribution is being handled by McKesson, which is shipping via UPS and FedEx.

By contrast, Pfizer’s vaccine needs ultra-cold temperatures (-94 F) for shipping and longer-term storage, creating potential logistical difficulties that required the company to create its own tailored distribution strategy.

The federal government has a contract in place for 100 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine with an option for 400 million more and just recently ordered 100 million additional doses. For Pfizer, it has secured an initial 100 million shots along with a provision for an additional 500 million doses. The federal government is currently in talks with Pfizer to secure an extra 100 million doses. — James Miessler