New Mexico and three other states will help Pfizer test logistics and setup plans for delivery of the company’s new COVID-19 vaccine, the pharmaceutical giant announced this week.
Last week, Pfizer announced that it had developed a two-stage vaccine for the virus and would be seeking emergency use authorization from the FDA in the coming weeks. But the vaccine requires storage and transportation in extreme cold settings, something many rural and poor communities will not have access to. That’s where New Mexico comes in.
According to Pfizer:
"The four states – Rhode Island, Texas, New Mexico, and Tennessee – were selected for the program because of their differences in overall size, diversity of populations, and immunization infrastructure, as well as the states’ need to reach individuals in varied urban and rural settings. The four states included in this pilot program will not receive vaccine doses earlier than other states by virtue of this pilot, nor will they receive any differential consideration."
"Learnings from this program will be adapted for usage across other states to help them create effective immunization programs for this vaccine,"
Once approved by the FDA, Pfizer will make 100,000 doses of the two-step vaccine available in the US. Federal funding for development of the vaccine was conditioned on providing those doses to US persons at no cost. The federal government can acquire up to 500 million doses under the agreement.
