With vaccines for COVID-19 expected to start moving to the first recipients in the next few weeks, scrutiny is growing on the supply chains that will get the vaccines to patients and front-line workers who will be the first recipients.

The Veterans Affairs Department (VA) will begin its COVID-19 vaccine distribution with about 73,000 doses, an official told lawmakers on Wednesday, though staff remain concerned about the department's ability to deliver them around the country, according to NextGov.

The VA expects to receive its initial batch of vaccinations in the coming days, assuming the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues an Emergency Use Authorization for Pfizer as expected. It has requested an opening order of 128,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine that the FDA also is expected to preliminarily approve in the near future. Those vaccines will only inoculate a small portion of VA’s 400,000-person workforce and the 8 million veterans who receive care through the department.

The initial doses will only be distributed to 37 facilities around the country, and those are the only centers equipped with the freezers necessary to store the Pfizer vaccine at -70 degrees. The VA is currently in the process of acquiring 36 more freezers.

The VA also is concerned it will have the staffing necessary to deliver on its vaccine plan and adequate care as COVID-19 cases continue to spike to record highs.

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