Local pharmacies are hiring thousands of people ahead of a COVID-19 vaccine.

New York is opting into the federal distribution program with CVS and Walgreens, which will give out the shots.

Once approved, Pfizer will ship vials nationwide from its Michigan factory.

Boxes are packed with dry ice to ensure the vials stay well-below freezing temperatures.

Then, UPS and FedEx will ship it to distribution centers.

In New York, that includes 90 cold storage units statewide.

The first vaccines are going to nursing home residents and staff, as well as high-risk hospital workers.

"Offsite clinics to long-term care facilities are things that we do very consistently, so we may have to beef up in certain areas. But we do feel very confident in the plan that we have to support the states and the long-term care facilities," says Rick Gates, pharmacy and health care senior VP for Walgreens.

Access to the vaccine will come out in five phases with the most at-risk first, followed by essential workers and then everyone else.