Trucks Carrying Pfizer COVID Vaccine Met by Cheering Onlookers at Kalamazoo Warehouse

Onlookers were seen cheering as the first trucks carrying Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine left a Michigan warehouse on Sunday.

Nancy Galloway (L) and Susan Deur cheer as trucks carrying the first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine, being escorted by the U.S. Marshals Service, leave Pfizer's Global Supply facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on December 13.​

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine developed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for emergency use on Friday, setting in motion the nation's biggest ever vaccination effort amid a pandemic that has claimed almost 300,000 lives in the U.S.

On Sunday, trucks carrying the first shipments of the two-dose vaccine—which the companies said had an efficacy rate of 95 percent—pulled out of Pfizer's manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

A small number of people cheered as the historic moment, including Susan Deur and Nancy Galloway, according to photographs captured by Agence France-Presse photographer Jeff Kowalsky.

Wearing masks to prevent the spread of the virus, the few onlookers were seen clapping as the trucks rolled out.

According to ​

The New York Times​

, 2.9 million doses of the vaccine are being transported by truck and plane from Pfizer warehouses in Michigan and Wisconsin to distribution centers—most of them hospitals—in all 50 states.​

The first vaccine shots are set to be given out on Monday to healthcare workers. According to the Associated Press, the vaccine is being distributed based on each state's adult population.

The initial shipments of Pfizer's vaccine will be staggered, arriving in 145 distribution centers Monday, followed by an additional 425 sites getting shipments Tuesday. The remaining 66 locations will receive the shots on Wednesday.

In a statement on Friday, FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said the agency's emergency use authorization (EUA) for the vaccine is "a significant milestone in battling this devastating pandemic that has affected so many families in the United States and around the world."

He added that the authorization came following "an open and transparent review process."

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