Aircraft with valuable cargo – the first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine for coronavirus – will begin touching California on Sunday and will continue in the coming days, according to the state government’s Emergency Services Office.
“We expect delivery as early as tomorrow,” Governor Gavin News tweeted on Saturday.
Two Area County Health Departments, Frontline Health Care and Nursing Home staff are ready to receive state doses as soon as they receive them and give the state a thumbs up to the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine for emergency use was cleared on Friday by the Food and Drug Administration. California, which has its own approval process in conjunction with other Western states, is expected to sue immediately.
Marine County Public Health Officer Dr. “It’s moving extremely fast,” said Matt Willis, who was allotted 1,950 in the initial dose and is expected to receive it earlier this week.
BREAKING: CDC #ACIP Pfizer’s recommendations for emergency use have now been voted on # COVID-19 The vaccine.
The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup is meeting today to review and evaluate data / safety information.
We expect delivery as early as tomorrow.
– Gavin News (@ Gavin News) December 12, 2020
The vials are stored on a tray inside a pizza style container, each containing 975 doses. Packed in a high-tech cooler with dry ice and GPS sensors, the vaccine will be delivered directly from the airport to health care facilities equipped with submersible freezers, which can store doses at minus -94 degrees Fahrenheit. Those features will both do the vaccination yourself and distribute it to other vaccination sites.
“Our current understanding is that, regardless of what happens, they could start sending vaccines directly to health care facilities as early as tomorrow night,” Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Services, said Saturday. “In the first few days, most counties will receive it.”
The ability to immunize people is the water scarcity in epidemics that has increased daily life, and has killed more than 20,000 people in California and nearly 300,000 people nationwide. However, vaccines will take months to become widely available, so they will not stifle continued winter growth.
California expects to receive 327,000 initial doses of the vaccine produced by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in Michigan’s Kalamazoo, with another batch of 327,000 delivered in three weeks, as the vaccine requires two injections at 21-day intervals. The state has requested one million doses this month, about two-thirds of which are moderate vaccines, with the FDA expected to receive authorization this week. It does not require subzero storage for the vaccine.
Almeida County said it expects to receive 13,650 doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Thursday or Friday, and intensive care will allocate initial doses to hospital staff. Residential care facilities for the elderly should be vaccinated by Vagrans and CVS later this month.
“We’re scheduled for Monday (to receive the Pfizer dose),” Willis said. “We are eager and ready to distribute it to our hospitals immediately and they will be able to start vaccinations as early as Tuesday.”
Across the state, early doses are being allocated to medical professionals, first responders in long-term care facilities and staff who are at risk of exposure to their work, possibly due to serious complications such as residents of skilled nursing facilities. .
The initial allocation of Marines will be shared between frontline health care workers and employees in skilled nursing facilities. Teams will carry vaccines to the county’s 13 skilled nursing facilities.
“We are experiencing a lot of outbreaks in our skilled nursing facilities, with 85% of long-term care facility residents dying in the county, almost all of the infected staff members in the community,” Willis said.
The county conducted an informal poll between health care workers and skilled nursing staff, and found that 84 84% wanted to receive the dose. Willis, who contracted COVID-19 earlier this year, said he expects to be vaccinated in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendations that infected people should still receive the injection.
Several private donors – Biomarine Pharmaceutical, Buck Institute and Dominican University – helped Marin purchase ultracold storage freezers, which are now ready at its emergency operations center in San Rafael.
In San Mateo County, “vaccine administration will begin immediately,” said Dr. Anand, head of the county’s COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Department. Anand Chabra said in an email. He expects to receive an initial 5,850 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week.
Each of the county’s six major hospitals will receive a receipt from the first shipment to vaccinate health care workers. Two of these hospitals have skilled nursing facilities, whose staff will also be able to get doses.
The county expects to receive 30,000 to 35,000 doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines by the end of the month, Chabra said.
“We estimate that 24,000 of the total 38,000 health care workers in San Mateo County (including direct clinical care, who handle cleaning, etc.) will receive their first (two) doses from this initial shipment,” Chabra said. “Future shipments are already in process and will provide a second dose for these complex groups.”
Wal Wal Grains and CVS Pharmacies will work directly with the county support needed with long-term care facilities, he said. The county health department will provide paramedics and EMT vaccines.
“San Mateo County Health has enough ultracold storage to handle the first shipment of the vaccine and is expected to receive additional ultracold freezers on Tuesday,” Chabra said. “We have a portable ultracold freezer on hand for transportation. The vaccine will be supplied and distributed with safety measures in its place. “
Napa County expects to receive 1,950 doses on Monday or Tuesday and will allocate them to hospitals and nursing homes that have the capacity to vaccinate their own staff, spokeswoman Janet Upton said.
A local hospital already has ultracold storage, and the county has received the Department of Homeland Security, which is receiving a 10,000 10,000 grant to buy another freezer it expects next week.
The UCSF expects to receive at least one box of 975 doses on Monday or Tuesday and more boxes in a week, spokeswoman Kristen Bole said in an email.
“If provided we get the shipment as expected and even if the California Department of Public Health in California approves them, we will start delivering these vaccines to people at great risk of being exposed on Wednesday,” he said.
For the general public, it will be months before vaccines become widely available. It will give states and counties more time to set up logistics and infrastructure to store and distribute vaccines.
“Once we try to vaccinate 40 million people, additional difficulties will present themselves,” Ferguson from Emergency Services from Fees said. “State trucks store refrigerated facilities, dry ice. There will be a central hub.”
In Napa, when these vaccines become more widely available, “we expect to have covid vaccination clinics like the flu clinics,” Upton said. “Drive-in Clinics with Drive-Up Lane.”
Caroline Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: Said
