Newsom: California expects more than 670,000 doses of Moderna vaccine in coming weeks

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KION) Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a social media post Wednesday that the state is expecting the first shipment of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in the next week.

It is now also expecting about 672,000 doses of Moderna's vaccine in the next few weeks. The state was initially expecting 327,000 doses of a vaccine.

Monterey County Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno said he expects Monterey County to receive 2,925 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 4,700 doses of the Moderna vaccine. He says he is working with hospitals to let them know the deadline for developing an agreement on how the allocations will be dispersed.

The first people in line to get the first doses of the vaccines will be healthcare workers and residents in long-term care facilities. When California was planning to receive 327,000 vaccine doses, Newsom broke down how many doses would go to each region of the state and divided those who will receive the first doses into tiers.

Read more about the regional vaccine distribution here.

To make sure that vaccines are as safe as possible, California and several other western states have formed a safety review group to provide recommendations.

Both Pfizer and Moderna are waiting for Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA. The agency released a document Tuesday confirming the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine, and it will be considered for authorization in the U.S. at an approval meeting scheduled for Thursday.

Officials say they hope to start administering vaccines within 96 hours, or four days, of emergency authorization.

Pfizer says its vaccine is 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 infections, including in older adults, with no serious safety concerns. Moderna claims that its vaccine is 94.5% effective and without serious side effects.