COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution: State By State Data

Quick Digest:

• The FDA approved the COVID vaccines created by Pfizer and Moderna for emergency use in mid-December.
• Since FDA-approval, high-risk groups such as medical professionals and people living in long-term living facilities have been able to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
• The vaccine is being distributed through a phased approach and the CEO of Moderna expects that most Americans will be able to get vaccinated by Memorial Day 2021. Below is a chart with data that represents how many vaccines have been distributed and administered in each state and the percentage of the population vaccinated.

COVID-19 Vaccine Update

The FDA granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to the vaccines created by Pfizer-BioNTech and Modern in mid-December. 

Accordingly, some groups, such as healthcare workers and older populations, have already begun receiving their series of vaccinations.

Although these vaccines were developed in record time, they pose no threat to your health. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna both ran phase three clinical trials on their vaccines. 

The results of these trials showed that both vaccines were over 94% effective in preventing infection with COVID-19. For more information, see our article on COVID myths debunked. 

When can I get the coronavirus vaccine in each state? 

 On January 6th, the Department of Health and Human Services announced $22 billion in funding for widespread testing and vaccine dissemination efforts. 

This money will be used to ship the vaccines to pharmacies, clinics, hospitals, and vaccination sites. Each state has drafted a plan for the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. For your state’s plan, see this link. 

States are following a phased protocol for distribution. In other words, the vaccine will be made available to different groups of people in timed phases based on need and risk. 

For instance, if you are over the age of 65 or immunocompromised, you have been able to get a vaccine since December 2020. However, if you are young and healthy, you may need to wait until around April 2021. 

Below we outline a possible COVID vaccine timeline for distribution. 

Note that this is just an estimate and this process may be slower in states that are more rural and cannot easily accommodate the storage of vaccines. In addition, the vaccination plan can be delayed if emergency use authorization is not given to Moderna. 

COVID-19 Vaccine Timeline

Mid-December: Committee meets and FDA may approve vaccines for emergency use authorization.

Late December - January: Frontline health care workers, people living in long-term care facilities or nursing homes begin to get vaccinated. About 25-30 million people will get vaccinated each month.

February - March: Essential workers, those over 65, teachers, and people with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated. Moderna and Pfizer can ship 70 million vaccines each month. If other vaccines are approved we may be able to vaccinate 150 million people per month by March. 

April - June: Healthy, nonessential workers will start receiving the vaccine. It is predicted that by Memorial Day 2021, almost all Americans will have access to the coronavirus vaccine. 

October - November: If 75-85% of the country is willing to get vaccinated, we can begin to see a return to normalcy by the end of 2021. 

Now that Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines are authorized, when will they be available? 

After the panel of committee members met, they made a recommendation to the FDA regarding the approval of the vaccine and whether they believe it to be safe and effective. 

Since the committee members suggested that the vaccines be approved, the FDA made the final decision to authorize emergency use in mid-December.