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- The Department of Defense released information about coronavirus vaccine cards and vaccine kits that will be available to every person seeking a COVID-19 vaccine.
- The vaccination cards can be carried in wallets and contain details about the first vaccine dose so a person can be reminded about when to come in for the second shot.
- The kits will include the card, a needle, a syringe, alcohol, and a face mask.
Preparations for the start of coronavirus vaccinations are well underway, with a few days to go until the FDA actually approves the first one. That will likely be the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which was the first to announce Phase 3 trial results and file paperwork for the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Moderna announced its final results a few days later, and the Moderna vaccine will probably get its own EUA in mid-December.
The independent advisory panel set up to decide on COVID-19 vaccination priorities already made its recommendations to the CDC. The group concluded that residents of nursing homes and the staff should be the first to be immunized, followed by health care workers. Other essential workers and people suffering from serious medical conditions would come next and then the general population will get access to the vaccines after that.
The Department of Defense has finalized a few additional logistical elements for the upcoming vaccination campaigns, including the vaccination record card and vaccination kits that every person will receive.
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The vaccination card isn’t some sort of “immunity passport” meant to make it easier to travel after being vaccinated. It’s purpose is to allow both the individual and their doctor to keep track of their vaccination history.
The Pfizer, Moderna, and Oxford drugs all require two shots administered several weeks apart. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine comes as a single shot treatment, but that vaccine might not be ready for several months. The vaccination record card will be used to allow anyone to keep track of the first dose and remind them when they have to come in for the second one. Considering the number of fields in the card, it might be used again in the following years, if additional booster shots will be needed to prolong protection against reinfection.
“Everyone will be issued a written card that they can put in their wallet that will tell them what they had and when their next dose is due,” Dr. Kelly Moore told CNN. “Let’s do the simple, easy thing first. Everyone’s going to get that.” Moore is the associate director of the Immunization Action Coalition, which will be supporting frontline workers during the vaccination campaigns.
Vaccination clinics will also hold evidence of vaccination and report it to the state’s immunization registry. That way, health care workers could quickly figure out what sort of vaccine a person received. The CDC will also be informed of every dose administered.
Patients will be asked to voluntarily provide phone numbers to receive text messages telling them when and where they will receive the second dose.
The DoD also provided an image of the vaccination kit that will be given to each person who goes for a vaccine. Operation Warp Speed has already prepared 100 million kits so far, ready to go for the first phases of vaccination campaigns. The kits include the vaccination card, a needle, a syringe, alcohol, and a face mask.
Moncef Slaoui, the chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, said Wednesday that 100 million Americans could be vaccinated by February. Around 20 million of those might be vaccinated this month if both vaccines are approved.
The FDA will hold EUA reviews for Pfizer and Moderna on December 10th and 17th, respectively. If approvals are granted, the first shipments will begin on December 15th and 22nd.
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