With the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) emergency use authorizations and subsequent recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are now being distributed in limited quantities across the U.S. — even making their way to healthcare workers who received their first doses in mid-December. 1-4
More COVID-19 vaccine candidates are also seeking emergency use authorization from the FDA as Operation Warp Speed pushes forward on its goal to vaccinate 100 million people by the end of February.5
That means that healthcare providers are now playing an active role in COVID-19 vaccine deployment, with the CDC recommending that healthcare workers, essential workers, adults with high-risk medical conditions and those over age 65 receive the first available doses in “phase 1” of their COVID-19 vaccination Program Interim Playbook. However, states will ultimately determine how vaccines are allocated.
As healthcare providers deploy COVID-19 vaccines to both staff and patients, here are five important considerations.
- Establishing what supplies you need
The U.S. government will provide Ancillary Supply Kits as part of the vaccine deployment program, including needles and syringes, alcohol prep pads, surgical masks, face shields and vaccination cards. However, additional supplies like sharps disposal containers and adhesive bandages will be needed to support the safe delivery of the vaccine. Learn more about what additional supplies your organization may need here. - Calculating ongoing supply demand and coordinating with your distributor
Based on your organization’s ongoing vaccine allocation and your determined list of necessary supplies, you can calculate the amounts of the specific supplies you’ll need.
With this projected demand, you can communicate your needs to your distribution partner, who can help assess supply, improve visibility into product availability, and determine the best path forward. For example, as an integrated medical distribution and products company, Cardinal Health offers reporting and dashboard solutions to customers to help enable clinical planning. - Storing the vaccine
Proper vaccine storage is crucial to the integrity of vaccines delivered. COVID-19 vaccines currently in development have temperature requirements ranging from +2°C to +8°C to an ultra-low -70°C.6 Specifically, Pfizer recommends three options for storage when their vaccine is received. Learn more about choosing a secure cold storage solution to meet your organization’s needs here. - Communicating about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine
Staff and patients may have questions and concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. The American Hospital Association has communication resources for both organizational and public-facing audiences available to its members, and the CDC offers a communications toolkit for medical centers and clinics and clinicians, including social media messages. - Reminding recipients of second doses
As the first round of vaccines are administered, it’s important to remember that recipients will need a second dose within a few weeks to get full protection against COVID-19. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines require two doses. 1-4
Vaccination kits will include a card that health providers can distribute when giving first doses to encourage recipients to schedule – and keep – a second-dose appointment; however, providers may need to do more to encourage uptake of the second vaccine.
Providers can look to smartphone-based vaccine adherence support programs or even consider different types of rewards. Additionally, the CDC’s Vaccine Administration Management System, or VAMS, web-based application facilitates patient scheduling, vaccine administration workflow, and patient monitoring.
Addressing these five considerations will help ensure your healthcare organization is best prepared to safely deploy COVID-19 vaccines to both patients and staff as we all work together to undertake one of the most important public health endeavors of our time.
View our COVID-19 vaccine-related resources at cardinalhealth.com/covid-19-vaccine.
References: 1. FDA Takes Key Action in Fight Against COVID-19 By Issuing Emergency Use Authorization for First COVID-19 Vaccine. U.S. Food & Drug Administration website. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-key-action-fight-against-covid-19-issuing-emergency-use-authorization-first-covid-19. Published December 11, 2020. Accessed December 14, 2020. 2. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Interim Recommendation for Use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6950e2.htm. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Published December 13, 2020. Accessed December 14, 2020. 3. FDA Takes Additional Action in Fight Against COVID-19 By Issuing Emergency Use Authorization for Second COVID-19 Vaccine. U.S. Food & Drug Administration website. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-additional-action-fight-against-covid-19-issuing-emergency-use-authorization-second-covid. Published December 18, 2020. Accessed December 21, 2020. 4. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Interim Recommendation for Use of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm695152e1.htm. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Published December 20, 2020. Accessed December 21, 2020. 5. US aims to distribute vaccines to 100 million by end of February. The Hill. Published December 2, 2020. Accessed December 14, 2020. 6. Hopkins JS. Covid-19 vaccine race turns deep freezers into a hot commodity. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccine-race-turns-deep-freezers-into-a-hot-commodity-11599217201. Updated September 4, 2020. Accessed December 3, 2020.