Alameda County To Receive Coronavirus Vaccines Tuesday

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — As the first shipment of some 33,000 vaccines arrived in California Monday, Alameda County was awaiting its own allotment of the Pfizer product Tuesday.

County health officials expect to receive 12,675 doses this week, with the first batches likely arriving Tuesday. The City of Berkeley, which is under its own health jurisdiction, will get 975 doses.

But who is getting the first dose?

Alameda County will give priority to first responders, hospital staff, and residents and staff at long-term care facilities. Health officials aim to first vaccinate those that are at "highest risk" of contracting the virus under the state's phase 1a of the vaccine distribution.

“Acute care hospital health care workers and 911 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, Medical Director for Alameda County Health Care Services Agency and Deputy Health Officer.

SEE ALSO: Who's Getting The Coronavirus Vaccine First In California?

California is expected to receive 327,600 first doses of the two part vaccine. And another 393,000 Pfizer vaccines could arrive in the state next week.

Gov. Gavin Newsom also announced Tuesday that 672,000 doses of Moderna were expected to arrive in the state by the end of December.

The county outlined a framework of vaccine distribution phases:

Phase 1

• hospital workers
• first responders
• residents and staff at long term care facilities

Phase 2

• essential and critical infrastructure workers
• older adults
• people with underlying health conditions that cause higher risk of severe illness
• people in jail or prison
• people living in other congregate settings.

Phase 3

• children
• young adults
• people working in lower risk settings

Phase 4 will include the general public and anyone who wasn't included in the first three phases.

“Vaccines are the light at the end of the tunnel, but we must continue to keep each other safe during the roll-out,” said Dr. Nicholas Moss, Alameda County Health Officer. “We are amid the worst surge of this pandemic."

While Alameda County health officials have said that the vaccine will not be mandatory for residents, they encourage community members to get vaccinated.

"...to achieve the full benefit will require broad uptake," officials wrote in a statement Monday.

There's a growing number of Alameda residents calling for teachers and other school workers to receive vaccines as soon as possible as a way to reopen classrooms for all students.

And while Newsom said Tuesday that Phase 2 of the rollout could be subject to change and could be left to the counties to decide on, the original recommendations for vaccine allocation indicate that school teachers could be up in the Phase 3, likely months away.

The U.S. Coast Guard base in the City of Alameda was chosen to be one of 16 bases that will receive some of the first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine, officials with the U.S. Department of Defense said last week.

The Alameda base was chosen as one of the 16 for its large cold-storage, which is required for the vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, and because it has an on-site immunization health specialist.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an Emergency Use Authorization for the vaccine Friday night, clearing the way for the DOD to receive nearly 44,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine as soon as next week.

Those doses will then be doled out to the 16 bases on a pilot basis.

Some administrations were already given to health care workers in California Monday, with Helen Cordova, an intensive care unit nurse at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, becoming the first.

"I’m feeling great. I’m excited. I’m hopeful," Cordova told reporters after receiving the shot Monday. "And I really encourage everyone to consider receiving the vaccine so we can start putting an end to this pandemic."

In Alameda County, there have been 38,218 cases, with an increase of 5,593 since last Monday's numbers were reported. That's a significant increase from last Monday's report when 3,149 new cases were recorded.

The county's death toll is now 546, with 26 deaths reported since last Monday.

Bay City News and Patch Editor Bea Karnes contributed to this report.

SEE ALSO:

• Contra Costa Considers COVID-19 Fines With 'Bite' For Violators
• Coming To California: What We Know About The Vaccine Rollout
• Santa Cruz Weighs Stay-At-Home Order While Awaiting Vaccines