Over 260,000 Californians have already received their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, and Gov. Newsom says the state should receive 1.75 million doses by the end of the year.
The state is still working to vaccinate the three million people who fall under Phase 1A, which is made up of healthcare workers and residents and employees of long-term care facilities.
State Senator Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician representing the Sacramento area, tells KCBS Radio’s “The State of California” program that it is far too early to celebrate.
“It’s really going to be how this rollout continues, to be sure we try to get out a vaccine to everyone who wishes to get one. So that’s still to be seen.”
He says that data indicates that about 70-80% of the population will need to be vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity. That means vaccinating 28-30 million people in California.
“So we have a long way before we get there,” he said.
The state’s two main obstacles to achieving that milestone are educating people about the vaccine and the logistical difficulties of storing and distributing millions of shots, some of which need to be kept in ultra-cold storage.
“It’s concerning that there are people who might not get the vaccine, however, I think it’s important that we educate people, get people accurate information about the vaccine,” said Dr. Pan. “Certainly people can look around them and see what COVID is doing to their communities. The fact that COVID’s already killed over 320,000 Americans and that number keeps going up should hopefully be motivation enough for people to get the vaccine, which is certainly safer than the virus itself.”
Dr. Pan says as vaccine access expands from healthcare workers to essential workers and the general public, the means of distribution will have to change as well.
Pharmacists with CVS Health and Walgreens have this week begun vaccinations at long-term care facilities.
“Eventually you should be able to get the vaccine from your doctor or pharmacist,” just like you would with a flu shot, said Dr. Pan.