States are getting ready for a vaccine.

That means they have to buy gloves and syringes.

They have to stand up data systems to track who's getting it

and possibly to remind those people to come back for second doses.

And they have to figure out how to store massive amounts of a vaccine,

possibly in very cold temperatures.

We are working to procure dry ice or the capability to manufacture our own dry ice.

Molly Howell is immunization manager for the state of North Dakota,

where they're also stocking up on freezers.

It's a part of her state's vaccine distribution plan.

Each state recently submitted its own plan to the CDC for review.

We've kind of described it as framing up a house.

Chris Aresman is the director of infectious disease for Minnesota's health department.

So we're going to keep adding to it, obviously, as we get more and more information.

But right now, we've kind of just built a frame.

Information like how many doses of vaccine will be available.

How much funding might come from the federal government,

or which vaccines will actually be approved?

I think it continues to be absolutely breathtaking the pace that has been achieved here,

recognizing that most vaccine development in the past has been a matter of multiple years.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health,

told NPR this week that two of the four US vaccine trials

...