Pfizer’s was on track to distribute an approved Covid vaccine by mid-October, before a venal political intervention added an unnecessary extra month. By a conservative calculation, this amounts to at least 12,600 extra deaths. Pfizer’s contract with the government calls for 100 million doses to be delivered, and Pfizer vowed to distribute at least 40 million doses before the end of the year. Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla estimated that they could put everything required for FDA approval no later than the third week of November. Since that includes an estimated five to seven days from the submission of their trial data, we should know early this week whether that deadline can be met. To make the third week of November approval submission, the trial data needs to be finished up in the next few days.
Otherwise, while the CDC is working with McKesson, the company that makes medical refrigeration, to handle the vast logistical complexities of the distribution of vaccines, Pfizer announced recently that they have set up their own distribution operation, in part because of their concerns over the extreme temperatures (-94°F) for the storage of their vaccine.
