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CDC letter tells states to be ready to distribute COVID-19 vaccine by November 1

November 1 is two days before the 2020 election
Posted at 5:35 PM, Sep 02, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-03 00:48:43-04

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is telling state governors to be ready to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine, as they may come as early as November 1.

The CDC sent a letter last week to governors from across the country asking public health officials to expedite any permit requests from vaccine distributors.

"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," CDC Director Robert Redfield wrote in the letter.

Redfield said in the letter that CDC is contracted with the McKesson Corporation to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to "state and local health departments, medical facilities, doctor offices and other vaccine providers."

The letter was sent to health officials in all 50 states, ABC News reports.

November 1 is two days before the 2020 Presidential Election.

As of Wednesday morning, there are 6,103,707 COVID-19 cases in the United States and the virus' death toll stands at 185,395, according to a dashboard from Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

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