CHAMPAIGN,  Ill. (WAND) - Just one week after Pfizer's vaccines arrived at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are on their way. 

The vice president of pharmacy services at the hospital, Linda Fred, said leaders are preparing for the vaccines to arrive. 

"I would expect that we would see that in our area as soon as this week. They intend to ship some Moderna vaccines as early as, then this week's allocations," she said. 

Carle Foundation Hospital is the coordinating center for vaccine distribution in Region 6, which includes Macon and Champaign counties.

The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are very similar, according to Carle.

"The two vaccines are actually extremely similar to each other in the way that they work, and also in their efficacy rates that had been reported to the FDA," Fred said. 

But, Fred added there is one big difference between them - the way they are stored. 

"The biggest difference between the two of them actually is the storage requirements. The Pfizer vaccine, of course, everyone's well aware requires the ultra cold storage. The Moderna vaccine also requires freezer storage, but it's a regular vaccine temperature freezer," Fred told WAND News.

WAND will keep readers updated as more vaccines arrive.