As U.S. health authorities near emergency approvals for the first Covid-19 vaccines, companies are taking some of the first concrete steps to prepare for the unprecedented and complex task of distributing hundreds of millions of doses to the American workforce.

Ford Motor Co. has procured deep-freezers to store vaccines at some of its factories. Sanderson Farms Inc., a top poultry producer, will administer vaccines to employees at health clinics erected at its facilities, and the CEO has pledged to get inoculated on video to encourage workers to do the same. Activision Blizzard Inc. plans to cover vaccination costs for employees and their immediate families. Several industries are lobbying to get their workers near the front of the line after the first doses go to healthcare workers and nursing home residents.

More actions will come once federal and state officials set guidelines to steer how and when everyone from teachers to truckers will eventually gain access to the shots in coming months.