Analysis

With new coronavirus cases and deaths continuing to emerge at record levels, the United States is poised to begin a lengthy vaccination campaign.

The first shipments of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine will not be enough to inoculate even just the medical workers and nursing home residents at the top of the waiting list. But after federal regulators granted emergency authorization for the Pfizer vaccine, millions of doses were expected to be shipped across the country, a small but tangible step toward ending the pandemic.

By design, the vaccine rollout will be a patchwork. Though federal regulators are responsible for deciding when a vaccine can be safely used, it is largely up to the states to determine how to deploy the doses they receive. Recipients of both vaccines will need two doses administered weeks apart. Distribution is meant to be based on adult population estimates.