Topline
Pfizer is testing delivery methods for its Covid-19 vaccine in Rhode Island, New Mexico, Texas and Tennessee in a bid to iron out any problems that might arise from the ultra-low temperatures the vaccine must be stored at.
Pfizer is testing its Covid-19 vaccine delivery in four states.
getty
Key Facts
While Pfizer’s vaccine candidate, which it developed with Germany’s BioNTech, is promising — the company reported early data from late-stage trials showed it to be 90% effective at preventing Covid-19 — it must be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius, which presents a challenge for distributing it.
The states involved in the distribution test will not receive preferential treatment or vaccine doses before other states, the company said, and were chosen for their diverse array of conditions relevant to vaccine distribution, including immunization infrastructure, population diversity and size, and different urban and rural settings.
Key Background
Since Pfizer and BioNTech announced the early results for their Covid-19 vaccine last week, many have been celebrating that the pandemic — which has claimed nearly 250,000 lives in the U.S. and over a million worldwide — might finally be nearing its end. That mood was buoyed Monday when Moderna announced early data that showed its Covid-19 vaccine to be 94.5% effective. But while promising (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was willing to accept a vaccine that was 50% effective), there is still a lot of uncertainty. The low storage temperatures required by Pfizer’s vaccine are a particular sticking point, and will serve to make distribution a much more complicated and expensive undertaking, if not outright impossible in some areas, than is usual for vaccines. While other leading vaccine candidates will still need to be kept on ice — Moderna’s vaccine will need to be kept at -20 Celsius — such conditions are warm compared to Pfizer’s requirements and are standard in medical practice. Nevertheless, it has been stockpiling vaccines for weeks in anticipation of regulatory approval.
Crucial Quote
A vaccine, while essential, is only part of what is needed to bring this pandemic to heel. In a video Monday, WHO head Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that it must be used to complement other pandemic fighting tools and not replace them. “A vaccine on its own, will not end the pandemic,” he said.
