{"id":49937,"date":"2020-12-11T02:37:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T09:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorados-vaccine-plan-includes-high-stakes-delivery-road-trips\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:49:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:49:22","slug":"colorados-vaccine-plan-includes-high-stakes-delivery-road-trips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorados-vaccine-plan-includes-high-stakes-delivery-road-trips\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado\u2019s vaccine plan includes high-stakes delivery road trips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Vail
Vail Health Hospital pharmacy technician Rob Brown takes mock COVID-19 vaccines out of a thermal shipping container at the hospital on Dec. 8, 2020 in Vail.<\/span>Helen H. Richardson\/The Denver Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Colorado\u2019s final coronavirus vaccine preparations include practicing for high-stakes delivery road trips<\/p>\n

There\u2019s security to consider<\/a>, as well as Interstate 70 traffic and snowstorms. \u201cIt\u2019s getting (different) groups to come together to put the syringes in the arms at the end of the day,\u201d one official said.<\/p>\n

At 8:06 a.m. on Tuesday, a plain cardboard box about the size of a large suitcase was placed on a dolly and wheeled out of a building near the busy runways at Denver International Airport.<\/p>\n

The precious cargo inside represented \u2014 hopefully \u2014 the beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic: vials of a mock COVID-19 vaccine.<\/p>\n

Even though the vials were useless against preventing infection, ensuring their safe transport was one of the final hurdles before Coloradans start getting inoculated against the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

That could happen within a week as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration mulls emergency-use authorization<\/a> for the vaccine made by the multinational drug corporation Pfizer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing, to be completely truthful,\u201d said Leo Gomez, co-owner of the medical transport company Swift Courier Services, who wheeled out the box. Jet engines roared in the background.<\/p>\n

\"Courier
Courier driver Leo Gomez brings out a large cardboard box carrying a shipment of mock COVID-19 vaccine at Denver International Airport on Dec. 8, 2020.<\/span>Helen H. Richardson\/The Denver Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Gomez loaded the package into a waiting Acura sport-utility vehicle headed to Vail as part of Colorado health officials\u2019 final preparations for accepting and distributing the COVID-19. His company has a contract with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to deliver vials across the state.<\/p>\n

Colorado is expecting to start receiving doses from Pfizer, shipped via FedEx alongside your holiday gifts, perhaps as soon as 24 hours after the FDA grants emergency-use authorization<\/a>. Officials are rushing to make sure transport and storage procedures are squared away before then.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeveloping a vaccine is only one herculean task,\u201d President-elect Joe Biden said on Tuesday. \u201cDistributing it is another herculean task.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun was invited to join the high-stakes road trip to better understand the logistical challenges. One major hurdle is that the Pfizer vaccine must be kept at a temperature of about -75 degrees Celsius, or colder than -100 degrees Fahrenheit.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also security to consider, given the limited supply of the vaccine and worldwide demand, and more mundane obstacles like Interstate 70 traffic and snowstorms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe state has been preparing for this for just about two weeks now,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Scott Sherman of the Colorado National Guard, who is serving as director of Colorado\u2019s Vaccine Task Force.<\/p>\n

\"Vail
Vail Health Hospital nurse Diane Schmidt holds up a mock COVID-19 vaccine vial at the hospital on December 8, 2020 in Vail.<\/span>Helen H. Richardson\/The Denver Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Colorado is slated to receive 46,800 doses of the Pfizer vaccine at first, an amount allotted to the state based on its population size relative to the rest of the U.S. That\u2019s enough to inoculate 23,400 people since the vaccine must be administered in two doses three weeks apart. Health care workers are expected to be first in line. Nursing home residents are next.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to move it as fast as possible \u2014 and safely,\u201d Sherman said. \u201cIt is crucial that we get the vaccines that are received in Colorado distributed to the local public health agencies and to the hospitals. In order to do that, we need to make sure we are doing it efficiently and safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trained to maintain a low-key profile\u201d<\/div>\n

Once the vaccine package was loaded in Gomez\u2019 car, it began its journey west, escorted by two Colorado State Patrol troopers.<\/p>\n

Authorities declined to disclose exactly what security measures they are taking to ensure vaccine packages aren\u2019t hijacked en route to one of the state\u2019s eight distribution hubs, but they are confident the vials won\u2019t be stolen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trained to maintain a low-key profile,\u201d Gomez said, explaining that his drivers have received explicit instructions not to tell anyone what they are carrying given the value of the cargo.<\/p>\n

Until Tuesday, Gomez had never done a medical transport with a state trooper. Was he nervous? \u201cAbsolutely,\u201d he said with a chuckle. He said he\u2019s seen law enforcement in his rearview mirror before, but never had an officer leading him through traffic.<\/p>\n

\"A
A convoy of vehicles, one containing a mock COVID-19 vaccine makes its way west on I-70 heading to Vail on December 8, 2020 near Loveland Ski Area.<\/span>Helen H. Richardson\/The Denver Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Even if someone was able to somehow hijack a vaccine shipment, they would have to know how to mix it with saline to be administered. (More on that later.)<\/p>\n

The shipments are also tracked by the Trump administration\u2019s Operation Warp Speed via GPS monitor.<\/p>\n

With security procedures ironed out, the package hit its first speed bump on I-70 near Central Park Boulevard in Denver: rush-hour traffic. Gomez and his State Patrol transport were caught in gridlock.<\/p>\n

Luckily, the Pfizer vaccine is shipped in thermal packages cooled to extremely low temperatures with dry ice. Those thermal packages can serve as temporary storage units for up to a month as long as they are refilled with dry ice every five days.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, as long as the vaccine is kept around -75 degrees Celsius with no more than a 15-degree variation, it has a shelf life of up to six months. There are ultra-cold storage facilitates around Colorado \u2014 their locations are not being disclosed for security reasons \u2014 so if a shipment is delayed because of traffic or weather or some other unforeseen circumstance, that\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n

To help with distribution, those ultra-cold facilities will also be able to divide up packages of the vaccine, which are shipped with a minimum of 900 doses. It\u2019s actually more likely that the doses will be sent out to hospitals from the ultra-cold facilities rather than directly from DIA or another Colorado airport.<\/p>\n

The vaccine can be kept at between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius for up to five days and still be effective, according to the state and Pfizer.<\/p>\n

Another vaccine that\u2019s nearing approval, made by Moderna, can be shipped in smaller quantities and only needs to be kept at 0 degrees Celsius. It could be approved by the FDA for emergency use sometime before the end of the year, though likely after Pfizer\u2019s vaccine.<\/p>\n

A 30-minute wait, saline and then: voila<\/div>\n

After traffic delays \u2014 including a long slowdown in Idaho Springs \u2014 Gomez arrived at Vail Health Hospital at 11 a.m.<\/p>\n

He was greeted at the emergency room entrance by a team that included a security guard and a Vail police officer. The box was then moved to the hospital pharmacy, where Jessica Peterson, the hospital\u2019s pharmacy manager, ushered the package into a \u201ccleanroom\u201d to be prepared for use.<\/p>\n

It takes about 30 minutes for the Pfizer vaccine to thaw and then it is quickly mixed with saline to be administered to patients.<\/p>\n

\"Vail
Vail Health Hospital security officer Chris Thompson, left, and Vail police Officer Dwight Henninger, right, escort pharmacist Jessica Peterson, second from right, down the hospital&#x2019;s hallways with a shipment of mock COVD-19 vaccine on Dec. 8, 2020 in Vail.<\/span>Helen H. Richardson\/The Denver Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

To prevent contamination of the vaccine during the reconstitution process, Peterson donned full personal protective gear. Something as minor as dust particles could be problematic, so the cleanroom also has positive pressure, meaning its airflow pushes contaminants out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about decreasing the probability of contaminating any products,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cThis may not be something that\u2019s required by Pfizer, but in order to just to err on the side of caution this is definitely the most sterile that way we can compound these medications. We want to make sure we can extend the life of these.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vail
Vail Health Hospital pharmacy technician Rob Brown reconstitutes mock COVID-19 vaccine in a sterile compounding room on Dec. 8, 2020 in Vail.<\/span>Helen H. Richardson\/The Denver Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Vail Health Hospital has two ultra-cold freezers in which it can store the Pfizer vaccine if it\u2019s not going to be administered right away. The facility estimates it can store thousands of doses if need be. Peterson showed off thick safety gloves she must use to handle the vials of frozen vaccine.<\/p>\n

Once the vaccine is reconstituted, health workers have six hours to administer it to a patient before it goes bad.<\/p>\n

Soldiers as vaccine couriers<\/div>\n

Vail Health Hospital, which has 900-plus health care workers, isn\u2019t sure how many doses of the vaccine it will receive at first. Gov. Jared Polis is slated to hold a news conference later this week during which he will unveil more details, including the location of the seven other hub distribution sites.<\/p>\n

The first doses of the vaccine will be distributed across the state and not prioritized to any one region, such as the Denver metro area, according to the governor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

But because Colorado is so large, and because of its difficult-to-navigate landscape, state officials are trying to develop plans to get the vaccine to far-flung corners. That includes using the Colorado National Guard as a courier service, and finding counties that can partner together to distribute the vaccine.<\/p>\n

Vail Health Hospital, for instance, likely will be part of broader mountain-area distribution plans.<\/p>\n

\"Vail
Vail Health Hospital nurse Diane Schmidt, left, gives a mock COVID-19 vaccine to Caitlyn Ngam, right, an infection preventionist at the hospital, on Dec. 8, 2020 in Vail.<\/span>Helen H. Richardson\/The Denver Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe hard part of it is working with people that you haven\u2019t worked with before in an environment you haven\u2019t worked with,\u201d said Lt. Col. Andrew Pollart, a Colorado National Guard soldier who serves as deputy director for Colorado\u2019s Vaccine Task Force. \u201cIt\u2019s getting (different) groups to come together to put the syringes in the arms at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The state is confident it will be successful. It hopes Tuesday\u2019s exercise will reveal gaps in the system so they can be addressed before the real vaccine arrives in Colorado. By the time the test vials arrived in Vail and were reconstituted with saline, however, there hadn\u2019t been any major red flags.<\/p>\n

At 12:24 p.m., a little more than four hours after beginning its journey from Denver International Airport, the mock vaccine was plunged via a syringe into the arm of Caitlyn Ngam, a health care worker at Vail Health Hospital.<\/p>\n

Ngam said she barely felt a thing.<\/p>\n

Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, journalist-owned news outlet exploring issues of statewide interest. Sign up for a newsletter and read more at coloradosun.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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