#CDC tells states to be ready to distribute potential COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 1

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told state governors and health officials to be ready to distribute a possible coronavirus vaccine by Nov. 1, reports said Wednesday.

CDC Director Robert Redfield wrote in a letter to the officials last week that the McKesson Corporation — a Texas-based health care company — would soon request permits to build distribution sites, and that the process should be expedited, according to The Hill.

“The normal time required to obtain these permits presents a significant barrier to the success of this urgent public health program,” Redfield wrote, according to The Hill. “CDC urgently requests your assistance in expediting applications for these distribution facilities and, if necessary, asks that you consider waiving requirements that would prevent these facilities from becoming fully operational by November 1, 2020.”

Documents outlining the distribution of two potential vaccines were also sent last week to every state and US territory, along with five major cities, according to the New York Times: New York, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia and San Antonio.

The documents describe two unnamed vaccine candidates, each of which would require two doses spaced a few weeks apart, the Times reported.

Essential workers, national security employees, senior citizens and members of particularly vulnerable racial and ethnic groups would be among those prioritized for the treatments, the documents reportedly said.

Leading US health officials have voiced skepticism that a vaccine could be developed and approved before the end of the calendar year, while President Trump has accused federal officials of slow-walking the process to hurt his chances of re-election.

The Nov. 1 potential ready date is two days before the presidential election.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the US had seen 6,088,187 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 184,803 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.