We’re getting more details on when thousands of doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine will arrive for distribution in San Francisco.
In a statement to KCBS Radio’s Kathy Novak, officials with the city’s COVID Command Center said they’re expecting roughly 12,000 doses, which "could arrive as early as December 15." The Pfizer vaccine has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA released further analysis Tuesday, which found the vaccine to be 95% effective. It is expected to get the green light for emergency use Thursday from an FDA advisory committee.
"DPH is currently meeting with internal and external stakeholders to determine which facilities will receive the first allocation," the statement read. "Individual facilities will then determine, based on California Department of Public Health guidance, which staff members will receive the vaccine."
The initial rollout, as outlined by Gov. Gavin Newsom last week, will be limited to frontline workers and the most vulnerable. The state’s vaccine working group has outlined three tiers of healthcare and skilled nursing facilities who will get priority access to the first batch of vaccines.
For some, the wait could be as long as late spring and early summer.
On Monday, the governor confirmed the same date as San Francisco’s COVID Command Center, explaining the state’s first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine are expected by December 15, possibly earlier. The batch will contain an estimated 327,000 total doses, with many more due in subsequent deliveries, according to the governor.
"You add Pfizer and Moderna and then all the other subsequent distributors and manufacturers of vaccines that will stack behind them, we’re working on a planning assumption of 2.16 million doses in the calendar month of December," Gov. Newsom said Monday.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles County also expects to receive its first supply of the coronavirus vaccine as early as next week. Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said an initial allocation of 84,000 doses is anticipated there.
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