CALIFORNIA—According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday, November 23 that more than two million health care workers in the state would be among the first to receive the coronavirus vaccine as early as next month.
The vaccine would have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In a press release, the FDA announced on Friday, November 20 that there will be a meeting regarding the “emergency use authorization (EUA) of a COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer, Inc.”
The meeting will be held on Thursday, December 10.
If the FDA gives its approval, there could be as many as 6.4 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine sometime in December. Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, said today that governors “will decide whom the vaccine is given to.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, regarding the vaccine’s pending approval, the California governor said, that “we’re waiting for FDA approval of at least one or more vaccines to occur in a number of weeks” and believe it will happen in December.
Even if the FDA does approve a vaccine, there may not be enough doses for California’s health care workers, which make up more than 2 million people.
If there are not enough doses, California’s vaccination committees are currently putting together a plan that will separate health care workers into subcategories, which will be based upon priority.
If a vaccine gets FDA approval, Governor Newsom said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has committed to giving the state $28 million during phase one.
The governor says the amount is “inadequate” and says there should be more money during the next phase of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution, as reported by the SF Chronicle.
The California state website reported that as of Monday, November 23, the state has 1,125,699 active coronavirus cases with a total of 18,769 who have died from the virus.
