How will COVID-19 vaccine distribution be impacted by the approaching nor’easter?

BOSTON — As more COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Massachusetts, more local hospitals are getting their initial doses, including Lawrence General, South Shore Hospital and UMass Memorial in Worcester. The president of UMass Memorial, Dr. Michael Gustafson, said they arrived on Tuesday.

“We received our allocation this morning around 10 a.m.,” he said. “So, it’s in the building. We got close to 2,000 doses.”

UPS and FedEx are working around the clock to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine. But so is mother nature, who is about to unleash a nor’easter on the state. Both shipping companies said they’re ready with full teams of meteorologists working on weather.

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FedEx Executive Vice President Richard Smith added that sophisticated GPS devices will also help.

“That will give us positive control and eyes on every shipment; our guardian angel so to speak,” he said. “And our priority alert command center will be watching them, and if there’s any sort of delay or unforeseen weather event, or road delay, they will jump into action to recover that shipment and ensure that it gets delivered.”

Both delivery companies said they anticipate and work around weather. And so do hospitals like UMass Memorial, which is tweaking its vaccination schedule.

“On Thursday morning, during the peak of the storm, we’ve pushed off the start time until 11 a.m. but we will do full sessions on Thursday and Friday,” Dr. Gustafson said.

>>>MORE: Mobile COVID-19 testing sites may close due to storm

Boston Medical Center received 1,950 doses on Monday.

“On Wednesday, we will begin the first wave of vaccinations to frontline health care workers, a group including doctors and nurses from our ICU and emergency department and patient floors that treat COVID-19 patients,” David Kibbe, a spokesman for the hospital, said in a statement.

Despite the storm all the hospitals told Boston 25 News that they expect workers on the job. As for Fed-Ex and UPS, they say state of the art technology will help get these vital shipments of vaccine to their destinations on time.

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