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The first shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive this week, according to Alameda County health officials, who have said that plans are being laid to ensure as safe, equitable and widespread a distribution as possible as more supply becomes available.
Following guidelines established by the state, the first round of doses in Alameda County will be distributed to hospital workers and first responders who are at the highest risk of being exposed to the coronavirus, with acute care hospitals receiving the vaccine directly from Pfizer for their health care workers.
“While we are still in the early phases, this is a hopeful moment for Alameda County residents,” Board of Supervisors President Richard Valle said in a statement. “A safe and effective vaccine will save lives and help residents and businesses return to some level of normalcy.”
While county officials hope that additional doses will be delivered within the coming weeks, this first round will include 12,675 doses for health care workers and first responders in Alameda County and an additional 975 doses being delivered to those in the city of Berkeley — which operates its own independent local health jurisdiction.
To be available for residents 16 years old and above, federal framework for distribution of the vaccine has established phases prioritizing the order in which residents will receive the COVID-19 vaccine based on their risk of exposure to the virus.
In the current Phase 1, hospital workers, first responders, and residents and staff at long-term care facilities are slated to be the first ones to receive doses due to their heightened risk of exposure and the increased danger they face when being exposed to the deadly virus.
“Acute care hospital health care workers and 9-1-1 first responders at highest risk for exposure to COVID-19 are our first line of defense in protecting our system of care from becoming overwhelmed and understaffed during this surge,” said Dr. Kathleen Clanon, deputy county health officer and medical director for the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency.
Once those groups have been vaccinated the process will move on to Phase 2, which includes essential and critical infrastructure workers, older adults, people with underlying health conditions that cause higher risk of severe illness, and people in jail or prison or people living in other congregate settings.
Phase 3 includes children and young adults (as of Tuesday residents under the age of 16 will not receive the vaccines) as well as residents working in lower-risk settings.
The final Phase 4 will be administered to any remaining individuals who were not included the first three phases.
While the vaccine will undoubtedly give hope to many throughout the region, Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Nicholas Moss has stressed the importance of continuing social distancing policies and wearing a mask whenever leaving the home. The county is still amid the worst part of the pandemic and county officials say that at the moment available vaccines are extremely limited.
“Vaccines are the light at the end of the tunnel, but we must continue to keep each other safe during the roll-out,” Moss said. “We are amid the worst surge of this pandemic. If you leave home for essential activities, wear a mask, keep at least six feet of distance from anyone you do not live with and please do not gather.”
While vaccination will not be mandatory, according to county officials, it severely reduces the chance of significant illness and even death related to COVID-19. To achieve the full benefit of the vaccine, broad participation from the community will be needed and to reach that end the county has launched a program to educate the community and coordinate distribution, they said.
To help build trust and keep the community accurately informed, the county’s first step “COVID-19 vaccine planning and logistics infrastructure” plan includes ensuring equitable distribution with the support of a “Community Advisory Group,” officials said.
Next steps include partnering with pharmacies and clinics to ensure broad access throughout the county, and then working with the state to identify the best community-based points of distribution.
“Equity considerations are central to Alameda County’s plans for wider distribution of the vaccine, and engagement with our community partners is essential to reaching our high-risk and disproportionately impacted communities,” Kimi Watkins-Tartt, director of the Alameda County Public Health Department, said in a statement.
County officials added that most health care systems will vaccinate their own workers, however Alameda County will work to support vaccination point of distribution (POD) locations for initial groups at the highest risk.
Residents can visit https://covid-19.acgov.org/vaccines for the most updated information.
