SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Governor Newsom announced Monday that 327,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine would be available to California in the first round. Now, counties across the state are figuring out how it will be distributed.
Dr. Olivia Kasirye, Sacramento County Public Health Officer, said she expects distribution to begin in the county by the end of December.
“Right now, we don’t know how much Sacramento will get. We don’t know how many doses we will get, and that will determine how many people will be involved,” Dr. Kasirye said.
Regardless, the initial allotment won’t go far. It’s widely understood health care workers will be the top priority, but there are 106,713 in Sacramento County alone.
Therefore, the county is working with local hospitals to identify who are the priority within the priority group of health care workers.
Dr. Kasirye said people over 65 or with chronic conditions like hypertension or kidney disease are at increased risk for severe disease.
Governor Newsom highlighted that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are challenging because of the multiple dose regimen and the ultra-low temperatures required with the Pfizer vaccine.
Dr. Kasirye said, in this regard, Sacramento is lucky.
“One thing that we’re fortunate about in Sacramento is that we do have several major health facilities that do have the refrigeration capability,” Dr. Kasirye said.
One outstanding question is where those vaccinations will be given, and one answer is the current testing sites.
“The communities already know where the testing sites are,” Dr. Kasirye said. “We already have teams at those testing sites that we can easily provide training to be able to assist us with the vaccination portion.”
Additionally, there are other options being explored.
“We are looking at either the Sleep Train Arena or the Cal Expo. We’re also working with the hospitals. They’re going to be able to assist us, the clinics, emergency rooms, urgent care clinics,” she said.
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