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Pfizer, the multinational pharmaceutical company, may be the first in the United States to seek regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine, but even if its vaccine is authorized, the company may face additional challenges in distributing it. That's because Pfizer's vaccine can't be stored in the refrigeration systems found at the typical doctor's office. Instead, it requires special ultra-low-temperature freezers that can store medicine at approximately 94 degrees below zero. (Harrison and Salzman, 9/10)

As global pharmaceutical companies race to complete their Covid-19 vaccine trials, the logistics that will be required to deliver them to all corners of the world are coming into focus -- and it will be a mission like no other. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), providing a single dose of the vaccine to 7.8 billion people will require the use of 8,000 Boeing 747 cargo aircraft -- and planning needs to begin now. (Cripps, 9/10)

There is much uneasiness and many questions about a potential COVID-19 vaccine, among them the unprecedented speed of its development and worries about a rushed approval in a highly politicized atmosphere. Recent comments by vaccine manufacturers about data being ready as soon as October are only bringing those questions into greater light. (Mitropoulos, 9/10)

A Minnesota health care provider has suspended its successful recruitment of participants in a coronavirus vaccine trial while its maker investigates whether a recipient’s “potentially unexplained” illness is a side effect of the shot. The trial led by AstraZeneca and Oxford University was suspended while a review is underway of a participant in the United Kingdom who became ill. (9/9)

Gwinnett County Transit driver Mikesha Walker talked to co-workers recently about whether they would participate in a COVID-19 vaccine research trial. They’re ideal participants, many researchers say. They spend more time with the public, which puts them at greater exposure to the disease. Many workers are Black, a demographic that is not adequately represented in trials. (Stirgus and Poole, 9/9)