The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says states should have plans in place to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine by next month, a move supported by the Dean of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center – even though he doesn’t think a vaccine will be ready by then.
Dr Ali Kahn is one of the top experts in the field and a former director of the CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response. He says distributing a vaccine is a complicated process, so the more lead time the better.
Dr Khan points to the influenza outbreak in 2009, when the vaccine was available in December but that it took until April to vaccinate just 25% of the U-S population. He says even if he’s right and a vaccine won’t be ready in October, it’s entirely appropriate for the CDC to reach out to the states and say “please get your plans ready.”