SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As the U.S. prepares for the possibility of a coronavirus vaccine, San Diego County public health officials detailed what groups will see the vaccine first.
San Diego County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten said the state anticipates receiving 327,000 doses in mid-December, with about 28,000 doses heading to San Diego County.
According to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the phases for vaccine distribution will follow:
Phase 1A: Healthcare personnel, nursing home residents, nursing home employees
Phase 1B: People with underlying medical conditions
Phase 2: Teachers, school staff, child care workers, food supply chain workers; Critical workers in industries essential to the function of society; People in and staff working at correctional facilities; All older adults not in Phase 1
Phase 3: Children and young adults 30 and younger, critical workers not in Phase 1 or 2
Phase 4: Everyone else living in the U.S.
Wooten added that the county's first round of vaccines will have to go toward Phase 1A, and that there are well over 28,000 people in the first phase alone.
"It's not just doctors and nurses, it's other healthcare personnel that might take food to individuals in their room that would have COVID-19 or maintenance or janitors," Wooten said of the Phase 1A group on Wednesday. "So those are at the top of the list, acute healthcare facilities. Again, it is going to be very challenging. We are working out the numbers and working out the process now. But the good news is that the first shipment isn't going to be our last shipment."
Wooten said that the second round of vaccine distribution will likely be within three weeks after the first round. She added that Phase 4 of distribution will likely occur in March and April.
The FDA is scheduled to meet on Dec. 10 to discuss issuing an Emergency Use Authorization for Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine. If the EUA is approved, shipments could begin within 24 hours.