California expected to receive fewer Pfizer vaccines than expected in next shipment

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KION and Sacramento Bee) Gov. Gavin Newsom's office says California's next shipment of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine will be about 40% smaller than initially expected, according to the Sacramento Bee.

The state was initially expecting about 393,000 doses in the shipment, but Newsom's spokesperson, Erin Mellon, confirmed with the Sacramento Bee that the federal government has told them to expect about 233,000 doses.

“The numbers we provided for future shipments were projected estimates based on what the federal government had communicated to us,” Mellon wrote in an email. “The federal government delayed the number of Pfizer vaccines that California will receive in the next shipment – many states received new estimated shipment amounts.”

This week, the state received the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and it has begun administering them to healthcare workers. Skilled nursing facilities are expected to be next in line to receive a vaccine.

A second vaccine created by Moderna was endorsed by an FDA panel Thursday afternoon, paving the way for it to receive emergency use authorization. If that is approved, California expects to receive about 672,000 doses as soon as next week.