INDIANAPOLIS — This weekend, shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be on its way to hospitals across the country.
The CEO for Operation Warp Speed said they expect 145 sites across the country to receive the vaccine on Monday, 425 sites will receive shipments on Tuesday and the final 66 sites on Wednesday.
In Indiana, five hospitals will be a part of the initial rollout, including IU Health’s Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
IU Health expects to receive the vaccine on Wednesday, but that could change as the shipments of the vaccine unfold during the week.
This is how it works:
Pfizer will ship the vaccine from its deep freezer farms in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Those UPS and FedEx trucks will likely get police escorts as they take the vaccine to their hubs in Louisville and Memphis. They'll then load them onto cargo planes, which will take them across the country.
FedEx will take the western states and UPS will take the eastern states.
On Wednesday, state leaders said Indiana will receive more than 55,000 doses of the vaccine with more in the coming weeks.
Health care workers in long-term care facilities will go first and then hospital employees in direct contact with patients will go next.
IU Health has also set up ultra-cold freezers to store the vaccine.
UPS will be the one delivering the vaccine to Indiana. A spokesperson said they are producing more than 24,000 pounds of dry ice for shipments.
Each vaccine shipment will be monitored, and pilots and drivers will know they are carrying the important cargo.
With such a massive logistics operation, officials are hoping things go smoothly. If it does, Indiana will have its first Hoosier vaccinated by next week.