With the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines set to be distributed later this month, the DuPage County Health Department unveiled their distribution plan at today’s county board meeting.
Pending FDA Approval
Karen Ayala, the health department’s executive director, said they are waiting for the Food and Drug Administration review on the two vaccines before they go ahead with their plan.
“We very much want to wait for that,” said Ayala. “That’s part of our commitment and our contract with the American public to provide a safe and effective vaccine.”
On December 10 the FDA will review the Pfizer vaccine, which is shown to be 95% effective. It will review the Moderna vaccine, which is 94% effective on December 17.
If approved, Ayala estimates distribution for the Pfizer vaccine could start on December 13 through 19, and the Moderna vaccine’s timeline would be December 20 through 26.
Distribution Plan
The DCHD’s first distribution phase is broken down into three subsections, outlining who will have priority for receiving the vaccine.
The first group, 1a, is healthcare workers and those working in long term care facilities. The next, 1b, is essential workers like teachers, police, and firefighters. And the last group, 1c, is adults with high-risk medical conditions and those 65 years old or older.
DCHD estimates 58,000 people from the 1a group will need to be vaccinated, and that could take 6-8 weeks. Ayala said DuPage County will be one of the first to receive vaccines and will initially receive 16,575 doses.
“We have extremely limited supplies of the vaccine so far,’ said Ayala. “…We are tweaking our plans in order to make sure we have the availability to provide drive-up vaccination in an outside environment.”
Ayala expects once the initial vaccines are distributed, the county will receive weekly doses.
Vaccine Page
The DCHD said their plans can change, and have a vaccine page on their website that will updated with the latest information.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.
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