How a vaccine will be prioritized, according to local health officials
CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION) The drugmaker Pfizer announced Monday that early data from its coronavirus vaccine shows it’s more than 90% effective. The CEO of Pfizer told CNN they expect to have 50 million vaccine doses this year and 1.3 billion in 2021.
“This is one of if not the biggest medical advancements in the last 100 years,” Dr. Mikael Dolsten with Pfizer said.
Pfizer is one of several drugmakers developing a coronavirus vaccine,
but the question still remains how widely available will it be next year? California has pledged to review the safety of a vaccine even after it's approved by the FDA.
The state will allocate vaccine doses to each county and then it will distributed starting with the highest priority groups.
Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Monday that despite a vaccine being close to approval, this does not mean the efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 should take a back seat.
“I am concerned. Truthfully, that we may get over exuberant because now we believe we have a safe and effective vaccine that is available and people may go back to their original form, that would be a terrible mistake,” Newsom said.
Local health officials say they’re still working out prioritizing vaccine hand outs. Nursing facilities are one of the top priorities. The most harmful outbreak on the Central Coast was at Watsonville Post Acute. 16 residents at the facility died from the virus.
The other main priorities are healthcare workers, other essential workers, those with underlying conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus and people over the age of 65.
In an address to the board of supervisors, Monterey County Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno said since there will be multiple vaccines, the health department is developing plans for safe storage of the vaccines.
“Some vaccines may require two doses. So, if we're going to be distributing vaccines, we'll need to set up a series of vaccine clinics,” Moreno said.
Moreno said initially the vaccine may not be available for children and pregnant women.
