More than 300,000 people have now died because of Covid-19 in the United States, with the latest milestone coming amid record daily fatalities and the national rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

The first shot in the US mass vaccination program was given shortly after 9 am ET on Monday morning at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, New York. Intensive care nurse Sandra Lindsay became the first person not enrolled in the vaccine trials to receive it.

“It feels surreal,” she said. “It is a huge sense of relief for me, and hope.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo described the vaccine as “the weapon that will end the war”. Donald Trump tweeted: “First Vaccine Administered. Congratulations USA! Congratulations WORLD!”

As hospitals around the US continue to describe a crisis of capacity in intensive care units, experts have described this winter as likely the most perilous time, despite the hopes brought by the recent vaccine progress. It also comes less than a month after the country lost a quarter of a million people to the disease.

The latest figures from Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus resource center show more than 300,456 fatalities in the US and more than 16m cases. It took just 27 days to go from 250,000 deaths to 300,000 – the fastest 50,000-death jump since the pandemic began. Some models project that hundreds of thousands more people could die before vaccines become widely available in the spring and summer.

The US has the highest death toll from the disease in the world, followed by Brazil, India, and Mexico, and the US is among the worst-hit of developed nations in terms of its death rate. Globally, there have been more than 69m cases and at least 1.5m deaths.

Earlier this month the UK became the first country in the world to begin administering Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, followed quickly by Canada and the US.

The US government is aiming to distribute the first wave of 2.9 million vaccine doses to 636 locations nationwide by the end of the week. US Army General Gustave Perna said on a Monday press call that severe storms expected in some parts of the country this week could pose challenges to vaccine shipments.

On Sunday, trucks hauling trailers loaded with suitcase-sized containers of Covid-19 vaccine rolled out of Pfizer’s manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, launching the largest and most complex vaccine distribution project in the US.

While progress on the vaccine is being celebrated across America, it also comes amid safety concerns and fears of anti-vaccination sentiments that might hinder the rollout.

Lindsay, 52, who is black, told the New York Times she hoped that by being the first person outside of medical trials to get vaccinated, she would help “inspire people who look like me, who are skeptical in general about taking vaccines”.

There are also worries over a potentially chaotic roll-out with local plans for vaccine distribution that vary widely, lack federal funding, and will not reach everyone even in early, limited populations.

The US, which has recently been reporting around 2,200 deaths per day, recorded more than 3,000 deaths on one day for the first time on 9 December.

Cases have been surging in the US since mid-October to more than 200,000 a day and experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci have said the worst of the surge is expected after Thanksgiving – despite official requests not to travel – and likely just before Christmas.

Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, told CNN his fears about Christmas were the same as Thanksgiving: people traveling and not social distancing, “only this may be even more compounded because it’s a long holiday”.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, a member of US president-elect Joe Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board, told: “No Christmas parties. There is not a safe Christmas party in this country right now.

“It won’t end after that but that is the period right now where we could have a surge upon a surge upon a surge.”

Hospitals around the country have reported being under huge pressure. One in 10 Americans – especially across the midwest, south, and south-west – live in an area where intensive care beds are either full or available at lower than 5% of capacity, the New York Times reported.

In California, Fresno county’s interim public health officer, Dr. Rais Vohra, told that there was recently one day in the county with zero intensive-care capacity: “I know that those who aren’t in the medical field may not understand or quite grasp just how dire the situation is, but all the things you’re hearing about – how impacted our hospitals are, about how dire the situation with our ICUs is – it’s absolutely true. And that really is the reason that we want everyone to stay home as much as possible.”

With the trucks rolling and the first government-authorized coronavirus vaccine making its way to all 50 states, a strong majority of Americans are inclined to get the vaccine but are divided over exactly when.

More than eight in 10 Americans say they would receive the vaccine, with 40% saying they would take it as soon as it’s available to them and 44% saying they would wait a bit before getting it.

Only 15% said they would refuse the vaccine entirely in the new survey, a reflection of growing confidence in the rapidly-developed vaccine, which marks a long-awaited turning point amid an unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic.

Late last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, for emergency use, facilitating the first batches of the vaccine to be distributed to millions of vulnerable frontline health care workers by Monday.

The decision by the agency to authorize is the first step towards safeguarding a country ravaged by the virus by immunizing enough Americans to halt the spread of the virus, which has killed nearly 300,000 and infected more than 16 million. More than two-thirds of Americans in the poll — 69% — say they or someone they know has been infected by the virus.

Among those who have been more closely hit by the pandemic, 45% said they would receive the vaccine now. Among those Americans who have not contracted the virus or do not know someone who has, only 30% say they would be willing to be inoculated immediately.

The share of Americans willing to take the vaccine falls sharply along demographic lines, particularly by age and education level. While only 7% of Americans over the age of 65 say they will never be vaccinated for COVID-19, that number rises to 20% among those between 18-29.

Meanwhile, 93% of elderly Americans are willing to receive the vaccine, with more saying they will get it right away (57%) rather than further down the line (36%). Eighty percent of U.S. adults under 30 are willing to get the vaccine, but they are more likely to say they will wait (50%) rather than getting it right away (30%).

Americans with higher levels of education are also more likely to be willing to be vaccinated than those with less education. Nine in 10 Americans with at least a bachelor’s degree are willing to get a vaccine, while only 80% of those with a high school degree or less say the same.

Those with a high school degree or less are more than twice as likely to say they would never receive a vaccine compared to those with bachelor’s degrees or higher, 20% to 9%.

Partisanship also plays a role in influencing the public’s outlook on a vaccine. Republicans (26%) are more than four times as likely as Democrats (6%) and nearly twice as likely as independents (14%) to say they would never get the coronavirus vaccine.

Nearly twice as many Democrats (49%) say they are willing to get the vaccine immediately as Republicans (28%). Just over four in 10 independents (42%) say the same. But the possibility of getting vaccinated in the future breaks through party lines. An equal 45% of Democrats, Republicans, and independents said they would first wait before getting a vaccine.

Americans are far more united on who should be first in line for medical achievement. Clear majorities of Americans believe that health care workers (91%), first responders (87%), at-risk Americans with pre-existing conditions (84%), the elderly (83%), teachers (64%), and members of the U.S. military (56%) should be a high priority for accessing the vaccine.

Nearly half of those surveyed believe students (48%) and the average American similar to themselves (44%) should be a medium priority, but the public is more split on elected officials, with 41% classifying them as a medium priority and 42% ranking them as a low priority. Only athletes, of the groups asked about, were deemed to be a low priority by a majority of Americans — 58%.

Americans, though, are far more skeptical of mandatory vaccinations. About four in 10 believe their state should require that people get vaccinated before returning to work or school, compared to 61% who are not on board.

Not surprisingly, it’s a question that evokes partisan rifts, with nearly three in four Republicans against such a mandate, compared to fewer than half of Democrats (45%). Independents fall closer to Republicans, with 63% opposing mandatory vaccinations.

The COVID-19 vaccination was developed to keep people safe from the novel coronavirus.

But just like any vaccination, there can be some side effects.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “side effects may affect your ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days.”
Common side effects on the arm where you got the shot include pain and swelling.

You could also experience fever, chills, tiredness, and headache.

To reduce pain and discomfort where you got the shot, the CDC recommends that you apply a clean, cool, wet washcloth over the area and use or exercise your arm.

To reduce discomfort from fever, the CDC suggests that you drink plenty of fluids and dress lightly.

In most cases, discomfort from fever or pain is normal. Contact your doctor or healthcare provider if the redness or tenderness where you got the shot increases after 24 hours or if your side effects are worrying you or do not seem to be going away after a few days.

With most COVID-19 vaccines, you will need two shots in order for them to work effectively. The CDC says you should get the second shot even if you have side effects after the first shot unless a vaccination provider or your doctor tells you not to.
It takes time for your body to build protection after any vaccination. COVID-19 vaccines that require two shots may not protect you until a week or two after your second shot.

A poll released on Monday determined that Republican respondents were four times more likely than Democrats to say they would never get the COVID-19 vaccine as immunizations begin to be administered across the country.

An ABC News-Ipsos poll found that a respondent’s party identification was directly related to their willingness to take the vaccine. A total of 26 percent of Republican respondents said they would never get the COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 6 percent of Democrats and 14 percent of independents.

The poll found that almost twice as many Democrats, or 49 percent, expressed willingness to take the vaccine as soon as it’s available, compared with 28 percent of Republicans and 42 percent of independents.

But 45 percent of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all said they would wait a bit before getting immunized.

Overall, about 8 in 10 respondents said they would get the vaccine, with 40 percent saying they would as soon as possible and 44 percent saying they would wait. Fifteen percent of respondents said they would refuse to get vaccinated.

When broken down by age, 93 percent of those over age 65 say they will take the vaccine, with 57 percent saying they will get it as soon as possible. For those under 30 years old, 80 percent are open to getting vaccinated, but 50 percent say they will wait before getting it.

About 9 in 10 respondents with at least a bachelor’s degree were open to getting a vaccine, while 80 percent of those with a high school degree or less agree.

A total of 69 percent of respondents said they or someone they know had contracted COVID-19, and among those, 45 percent said they would immediately take the vaccine. But out of respondents who have not been and don’t know anyone who has been infected, 30 percent said they would obtain the vaccine right away.

The poll comes after the Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine, sparking the distribution process for the first doses. Health care workers and vulnerable populations are designated to receive the first vaccinations in the country.

Seven months of strategizing, $18 billion in funding and it’s all come down to this. Now that scientists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have authorized Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. government has cleared the way for the distribution of 2.9 million doses to the American public.

It’s just the first round of shipments in what will be a months-long process to inoculate some 300 million Americans. The decision Friday night sets in motion a vast logistics chain designed to reach each corner of the country. It took meticulous planning to meet the challenge of delivering a sea of doses at controlled temperatures so doctors could administer shots as soon as next week.

The blueprint for the national strategy is represented in a dozen maps and charts Scotch-taped to the walls of a seventh-floor office in downtown Washington, D.C., where General Gustave Perna and his team-leading the government vaccine effort have devised the logistics operation that they hope will change the trajectory of American history. In an interview with TIME this week before FDA authorization, Perna compared vaccine delivery day to the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, an event more commonly known as “D-Day.” He uses the same term when discussing plans for the day Pfizer will begin delivering America’s first shipment of vaccines. “This is a game-changer,” he says. “Not to dramatize the situation we’re in, but we’re at war with this virus. And the vaccine is the beginning of the end.”

The countdown to Perna’s personal D-Day began in May when he was put in charge of logistics for the federal vaccine program, dubbed Operation Warp Speed (OWS), an unlikely collaborative effort led by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense to develop, manufacture and deliver COVID vaccines to Americans. The four-star Army general was tapped because of his 39 years of service as a logistics officer, most recently as commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command which oversees the branch’s global supply chain.

The need for a vaccine has grown increasingly urgent over the past week. On Friday, the U.S. reported 3,309 deaths, the highest toll in a single day the country has seen to date, according to Johns Hopkins University. The grim tally broke the previous record set Wednesday at 3,124. The number of patients hospitalized with COVID reached 108,000, according to the COVID Tracking Project—also a record, one that’s created critical shortages in about 1 in 8 U.S. hospitals, HHS data shows.

An FDA assessment made public on Dec. 8 shows Pfizer’s vaccine is around 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease, and on Dec. 11, the FDA formally issued emergency use authorization of the shot. The vaccine is already authorized for use in the UK, where it was administered this week for the first time; it’s also been approved in Canada where the first shots are expected next week.