Guide For Distributors and Providers On COVID-19 Vaccination Program: Includes Information on Needles and PPE
September 25, 2020
Recently, HHS and DOD released two documents outlining the Administration’s strategy to deliver COVID-19 vaccine doses to the American people as part of Operation Warp Speed. The documents provide a strategic distribution overview along with an interim playbook for state, tribal, territorial, and local public health programs and their partners on how to plan and operationalize a vaccination response to COVID-19 within their respective jurisdictions.
Vaccine Ordering and Distribution to Include Ancillary Supplies:
- To receive and administer COVID-19 vaccine and ancillary supplies, vaccination providers must enroll in the United States Government (USG) COVID-19 Vaccination Program, coordinated through their jurisdiction’s immunization program, by signing and agreeing to conditions outlined in the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider Agreement.
- CDC will use its centralized distribution contract to fulfill orders for most vaccine products and associated ancillary supplies.
- Some vaccine products, such as those with ultra-cold temperature requirements, will be shipped directly from the manufacturer to the vaccination provider site.
- Ancillary supplies will be packaged in kits and will be automatically ordered in amounts to match vaccine orders. (see page 25)
- COVID-19 vaccine and ancillary supplies will be procured and distributed by the federal government at no cost to enrolled COVID-19 vaccination providers. CDC will share more information about reimbursement claims for administration fees as it becomes available.
- Vaccine (and adjuvant or diluent, if required) will be shipped to provider sites within 48 hours of order approval by the immunization program, if supply is available. Ancillary supply kits and diluent (if required) will ship separately from the vaccine due to different cold chain requirements, but shipment will be timed to arrive with or before the vaccine.
Ancillary Kits: What They Will and Will Not Include:
- Ancillary supply kits will include needles, syringes, alcohol prep pads, COVID-19 vaccination record cards for each vaccine recipient, and a minimal supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), including surgical masks and face shields, for vaccinators.
- Each kit will include supplies needed to administer 100 doses of vaccine, including (see page 25):
- Needles, 105 per kit (various sizes for the population served by the ordering vaccination provider)
- Syringes, 105 per kit
- Alcohol prep pads, 210 per kit
- 4 surgical masks and 2 face shields for vaccinators, per kit
- COVID-19 vaccination record cards for vaccine recipients, 100 per kit
- Jurisdictions may need to plan for additional PPE, depending on vaccination site needs.
- For COVID-19 vaccines that require reconstitution with diluent or mixing adjuvant at the point of administration, these ancillary supply kits will include additional necessary syringes, needles, and other supplies for this purpose, but not sharps containers, gloves, and bandages (see page 25).