COVID-19 vaccine doses finally on their way aboard United Airlines charter flights – distribution awaits FDA approval

A COVID-19 vaccine is finally on its way – but it will be weeks or more before one is shot dead in the arms of Americans.

Doses of Pfizer vaccine began shipping on United Airlines charter flights on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

© Jeff Chiu
United Airlines plane takes off above an airplane on the runway of San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco.

United Airlines plane takes off above an airplane on the runway of San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco. (Jeff Chiu /)

Because the vaccine must be shipped cold, the Federal Aviation Administration has relaxed its rules on the amount of dry ice allowed on transport flights.

United is allowed to pack vaccines in 15,000 pounds of dry ice per flight – five times the amount allowed by FAA rules, according to the Journal.

Dry ice – which is frozen carbon dioxide – is a hazardous material restricted by FAA rules because planes typically lack the equipment to detect carbon dioxide that could escape from packages.

Flights are the first link in the complex COVID vaccine supply chain, which aims to deliver the vaccine to 300 million Americans.

© Provided by New York Daily News
Neal Browning receives an injection as part of the first stage clinical trial of the safety study of a potential COVID-19 vaccine at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle.

Neal Browning receives an injection as part of the first stage clinical trial of the safety study of a potential COVID-19 vaccine at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. (Ted S. Warren /)

In a statement, the FAA said it was also prioritizing flights carrying goods, such as vaccines, and personnel essential to the nation’s response and recovery from COVID-19.

Vaccines will be scarce at first. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control are planning a meeting next week to discuss who will be the first to receive the vaccines.

Experts say health workers should get vaccinated first. Priority may also go to workers in essential industries, people with health problems and people aged 65 and over.

The federal government’s Operation Warp Speed ​​brought in military planners and the CDC to figure out how to make and distribute the vaccine to 300 million Americans.

Vaccines developed by Pfizer and other companies will require people to receive two injections several weeks apart.

This poses a logistical problem – medical staff will have to follow those who are vaccinated and remind them that they need a second dose.

Planners also need to increase the number of syringes, needles and other equipment needed to deliver the vaccine safely.

Logistical issues aside, COVID-19 vaccines are still awaiting government approval. The FDA can give emergency approval to one or more vaccines in December.