[Goose]

EDIT:  Pfizer indicates up to 35 days (30 in shipping container, 5 in refrigerator after that) storage without a super freezer.

I am virtually certain the vast majority of the unused vaccine is sitting in "super freezers" at places like Stanford, UCSF, etc. Heck, even San Mateo County has one (brand new). That's not the problem. It is the glacially (pun intended) slow delivery into arms that we should be rightly concerned about.

There are 58 counties in California.  Even San Mateo county is the 14th largest.   I know 975 Pfizer doses were sent to Tuolomne county, about 25% of which were to go to another county.  I doubt either of those counties has a super freezer.   I'd bet that half of the 3142 counties in the US do not have access to ultra-cold freezers.

While this might not be an issue for your or my county, and potentially not for the largest 139 counties with 50% of the US population (and, hence, 50% of the vaccine), I do think it is a problem for large areas of the US.

I am sure it would be if they were being asked to store lots of vaccine, but as you point out, they are not. That is why Tuolomne county and other small counties need to give their 975 doses within 35 days. That is 28 a day. Not really a big ask. It does take some organization because you do want to use up all the vaccine you have thawed and diluted within 5 days, but at 5 (maybe 6) doses per vial, that isn't too hard. It will be more of a problem when they are vaccinating the "general public". The State will undoubtedly not send them more than they say they can distribute in any given time period, say two weeks. Sending a shipment every two weeks isn't asking much.  The State and bigger counties certainly have room to store the vaccine for the smaller counties until they need it.

[Goose]

EDIT:  Pfizer indicates up to 35 days (30 in shipping container, 5 in refrigerator after that) storage without a super freezer.

I am virtually certain the vast majority of the unused vaccine is sitting in "super freezers" at places like Stanford, UCSF, etc. Heck, even San Mateo County has one (brand new). That's not the problem. It is the glacially (pun intended) slow delivery into arms that we should be rightly concerned about.

There are 58 counties in California.  Even San Mateo county is the 14th largest.   I know 975 Pfizer doses were sent to Tuolomne county, about 25% of which were to go to another county.  I doubt either of those counties has a super freezer.   I'd bet that half of the 3142 counties in the US do not have access to ultra-cold freezers.

While this might not be an issue for your or my county, and potentially not for the largest 139 counties with 50% of the US population (and, hence, 50% of the vaccine), I do think it is a problem for large areas of the US.

I am sure it would be if they were being asked to store lots of vaccine, but as you point out, they are not. That is why Tuolomne county and other small counties need to give their 975 doses within 35 days. That is 28 a day. Not really a big ask. It does take some organization because you do want to use up all the vaccine you have thawed and diluted within 5 days, but at 5 (maybe 6) doses per vial, that isn't too hard. It will be more of a problem when they are vaccinating the "general public". The State will undoubtedly not send them more than they say they can distribute in any given time period, say two weeks. Sending a shipment every two weeks isn't asking much.  The State and bigger counties certainly have room to store the vaccine for the smaller counties until they need it.