SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Monday, the County of San Diego will now be able to administers Novavax, a more traditional vaccine against the Coronavirus.
The County hopes Novavax will help to stop the spread of the virus.
Friday there were more than 1,600 cases of COVID-19 reported. Doctors like Dr. William Tseng, the Assistant Chief of Staff at Kaiser Permanente San Diego, believe that providing more options for individuals, this may help keep case numbers at bay.
Two weeks ago the CDC approved the use of Novavax, a two dose vaccine for those 18 and up. It has been shown to be 90% effective against COVID-19
“So the good thing about is for people who are afraid and are saying look I don't want to use the MRna technology, this is the tried and true vaccine that we have used before, for years and years," shares Dr. Tseng. "And it can save lives and it has been proven to save lives.”
As of this weekend, the County began supplying retail pharmacies, community clinics, and vaccination sites across San Diego. LA County will also be stocking up their shelves starting on Wednesday.
“I’m hoping that this will be the one that closes that gap," explains Dr. Tseng. "Try and get the whole county vaccinated so we can try and prevent continued transmission.”
While San Diego is seeing COVID numbers rise, we are also seeing new cases of Monkeypox. The County has given out more than 2,000 vaccines to fight Monkeypox.
“We are seeing it, we are seeing an increase, and that is worrisome for most of us," shares Dr. Tseng. "To say how do we make sure we have it contained?”
The County last week unveiled a new text alert system for those who signed up to receive real time information about Monkeypox in our region.
"I think it’s good to keep the public aware, people need to know what is going on so they have the situational awareness," explain sDr. Tseng.
He furthers, "When the transmission is high we want to make sure we are extra careful. When the transmission is low then we can see, where is it going to be safe, how do I go about to make sure I don’t get that infected.”
Areas like San Francisco have declared Monkeypox a 'local emergency', after finding more than 300 cases. Los Angeles reported 306 on Friday, but San Diego County has a much lower count at 27.
But Dr. Tseng says that having it remain this way is a group effort, “We can do this but we can only do this together.”
Dr. Tseng says that if you are in close contact with someone who has Monkeypox or you believe you are shwoing symptoms, quarantine and isolate.
As for the Novavax, the county suggests calling ahead to make sure they are supplied.