The Defense Logistics Agency announced Thursday that it's ready to ship COVID-19 vaccine doses to Defense Department employees outside the continental U.S.

According to the Pentagon, the DLA has been working with Operation Warp Speed and Defense Health Agency officials to develop a plan for delivering the vaccine as it becomes available.

According to Army Col. Anthony Bostick, who leads DLA's Operation Warp Speed operational planning team, the DLA will adapt some of the practices it uses to deliver the annual flu vaccine, which it has done for 20 years.

"In some aspects, storage and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine is pretty similar to what we've been doing all along with the flu vaccine, and DLA has had great success getting that to DOD employees around the world," Bostick said.

The DLA has increased its refrigerated storage space and will be able to maintain almost 19 million doses of the 35.6-to-46.4 Fahrenheit vaccine and the -4 Fahrenheit vaccine before shipping products.

The agency has not been asked to distribute the -112 Fahrenheit vaccine, Bostick said, but has developed some plans to provide support for distribution if necessary.

DLA Distribution manages six U.S.-based and four overseas centers that can handle cold-chain items and began training additional employees in cold-chain management processes in June, according to Bob Garrettson of DLA Distribution's special commodities team.

"We've been involved in very detailed, intense planning with DHA and other key players to make sure there's a coordinated response that gets the vaccine exactly where it's needed, and we have contingency plans in place in case they're needed," he said.

DLA has been involved in the nation's pandemic response since February and has provided more than $2.5 billion in supplies ranging from face masks and ventilators to test kits, the Pentagon said.

At the beginning of Dec. 3 Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said the Navy would prioritize "people likely to come in contact with people who are infected" for the vaccine rollout, and on Dec. 9 the Pentagon released its plan for distributing the vaccine within the Defense Department.

That plan echoes Centers for Disease Control recommendations that healthcare providers be prioritized, with personnel preparing to be deployed following.

As of Thursday the Department of Defense had reported 143,641 cumulative cases of coronavirus, with 94,644 in the military, 25,363 amond civilian DoD employees, 14,824 among dependents and 8,810 among military contractors.

Of those, 157 have died, 2,143 have been hospitalized and 84,555 have recovered.

On Nov. 30, the Pentagon reported 117,736 total cases of the novel coronavirus since March, with 79,020 among the military, 19,770 among civilian DoD employees, 11,721 among DoD dependents and 7,225 among contractors.

Snowstorm blankets US east coast, threatening vaccine rollout
Washington (AFP) Dec 17, 2020 - A major snowstorm hit the US east coast during Thursday's early hours, creating extra challenges in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic and a mass vaccination rollout taking place across the region.

The winter storm, moving over New York, Pennsylvania and other northeastern states, leaves millions facing more than a foot of snow a week before Christmas, potentially disrupting coronavirus testing and delaying holiday deliveries.

It also left more than 60 million people under bad weather warnings from Maine to South Carolina.

New York City, if hit as badly by the storm as predicted, would be facing the most snow from one storm in more than four years, after it was hit with two feet in January 2016.

Officials in New York state and Pennsylvania said they were prepared to deal with the bad weather to ensure that vaccine delivery schedules went ahead as planned.

Delivery companies FedEx and UPS said they had also put measures in place to mitigate the storm's effects.

Snowfall rates in both states were two inches per hour, with more than 12 inches in total, according to the US National Weather Service (NWS).

It said snow could reach up to two feet in some parts of the states, which both dispatched plows to keep the roads clear.

Boston, the most populous city in Massachusetts, imposed an emergency and issued a parking ban on key roads for workers.

"Confidence is high that this major winter storm will result in significant impacts including travel disruptions and power outages across much of the northern Mid-Atlantic, southern New York and southern into central New England," the NSW said in a tweet late Wednesday.

Despite the potential disruption, people rushed to play in New York City's famous Times Square -- some dressed as characters such as Elmo and Batman and others having snowball fights -- as it became blanketed in white.

While the snow brought joy for some, restaurants stacked chairs and tables and shuttered after a snow alert effectively put an end to outdoor dining, the last hope of custom for some business owners because of social distancing rules.

In Pennsylvania, the transport department told drivers to limit journeys and introduced new speed restrictions to prevent accidents.

Hundreds of schools announced they would close and again retreat to online learning, bolstered by the experience of the pandemic.

Airlines also canceled hundreds of flights on Wednesday, preventing many -- some returning home for Christmas -- from traveling.

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China's Fosun Pharma to import 100 million BioNTech vaccine doses
Beijing (AFP) Dec 16, 2020
A Chinese pharmaceutical company said Wednesday it had agreed to buy at least 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine from German company BioNTech, subject to Beijing approving its use. China has been rapidly developing its own Covid-19 vaccine candidates and ramping up production facilities, but local firms have also been partnering with foreign developers to supply the world's most populous country. Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group said its subsidiary had entered into an agreement with ... read more