The coronavirus COVID-19 is surging in the U.S., which has reported more than 15 million cases and 286,000 deaths from the virus since the pandemic began, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
President-elect Joe Biden has said the incoming administration will ensure the country will have 100 million doses available during his first 100 days in office.
But the U.S. doesn't have 100 million doses yet.
The U.S. is anticipated to get 40 million doses of the vaccines, both of which must be given twice for full effectiveness, by the end of 2020.
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State officials in some states have said they anticipate prioritizing people at greater risk for contracting the disease, including elderly people and healthcare workers.
Regardless of how you feel about the vaccine, there are a great number of people who want to get the vaccine.
So if you want to get it or if your loved ones want to get it, how can you get it?
The New York Times has created a vaccine calculator that gives an educated guess (a "guess-timate" if you will) that gives you a look at where you stand in the long list of people who want to take the vaccine.
Use the Vaccine Calculator here.
The NYT worked with the Surgo Foundation and Ariadne Labs using their vaccine tool to calculate the number of people who will need a vaccine in each state and county — and where you might fit in that line.
What We Know (so far)
What we do know is that while the CDC has outlined some suggested guidelines, states will ultimately decide on their own how the vaccine is dolled out.
Many states are struggling to prepare because information about what, when and how much vaccine is coming constantly changes.
That, plus extra funding (which comes from Congress) may be needed to make the undertaking possible--and we all know how long Congress can take to make a decision.
Other factors include how well a state's health department is funded, how hard the pandemic has hit and how robust its immunization system was pre-pandemic.
Overall, state officials express confidence for this end of the year launch. Officials are meeting two and three times a week to prepare, hiring more people, beefing up their computer systems, requisitioning or buying everything from all-terrain delivery vehicles for remote places to dry ice machines for keeping the precious vaccine at its required sub-zero temperature.
In states such as Arizona, private health care systems will do much of the distribution.
There, Banner Health already is planning immunization sites at the state fairground in Phoenix. In Alaska, the tribal health system of 180 clinics will be integral to getting the vaccine out.
Some states have signed up for only a few providers for the CDC’s vaccine ordering system, others have hundreds ready to go. Some states are doing everything with their own staff, others have asked the National Guard to help-–in one case, almost 1,000 Guardsmen.
Other states seem like they either don't know their method of delivery or are being secretive about it, while others publish lists and maps of every site on the web.
Two things stand out as the biggest hurdles to get this thing done efficiently: constantly shifting information about when and how much of the vaccine will arrive at clinic loading docks and a lack of approved funds to make it happen.
A state can be told to expect 60,000 doses in its first shipment, only to see the number drop to 20,000 a few weeks later.
One month the CDC says states don’t need to invest in ultra-cold freezers to store the Pfizer vaccine, the next there’s a run on them by bigger states, no matter what CDC says.
