Riverside County leaders discuss COVID vaccine timeline
Riverside County could receive more than 14,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine as soon as Tuesday, county health officials revealed on Friday.
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Although health officials say it won't be a cure-all right away, it could help as county and state ICU capacities are pushed to the limit.
"Our current ICU utilization is about 95% so we have about 5% of our licensed ICU capacity together," said Bruce Barton, Director of Emergency Services for Riverside County.
Resources have been stretched thin as hospitals throughout Riverside County struggle for adequate staffing.
On Friday county leaders joined Supervisor Manuel Perez for a virtual briefing to discuss the latest in hospitalizations, ICU capacity and other concerns surrounding coronavirus.
"For the Pfizer vaccine, the first round, we know that we are getting 14,625 doses. For the first round of Moderna, we are anticipating around 21,000 doses of vaccine," said Kim Saruwatari, Riverside County Department of Public Health Director.
Saruwatari said the first round could arrive as early as next Tuesday, while the second round could arrive before Christmas.
"We do have capacity right now for super cold storage of the vaccine. As with many hospitals across the county, we've ordered additional freezers for this purpose," said Dr. Geoffrey Leung, Riverside County Department of Public Health Ambulatory Medical Director.
The Pfizer vaccine requires ultra-low storage temperatures down to about minus 70° Celsius. Healthcare workers are the first in line to receive the vaccines.
"The state has recommended that we consider areas like the emergency room and the intensive care unit first. We do have other areas where we have COVID positive individuals such as our regular hospital beds," Dr. Leung said.
Although Dr. Leung said the vaccine will not eradicate the virus right away, it provides an additional way of protecting and preventing transmission of infection.
