When Will the COVID Vaccine Be Available to the General Public?

California has received its first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine, and medical workers in Orange County, CA, have started getting vaccinated. Since this development, Governor Gavin Newsom, in a statement, said, “There may be light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s a very, very dark tunnel.” 

 

This week, California received its first 33,150 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. And according to a statement made by the Governor, if the Moderna vaccine is authorized, the state will receive 2.1 million doses of the new vaccine by the end of the month.

 

We’re still in the first phases of the vaccination that includes health care workers and residents at long-term care settings, consisting of about 3 million people. 

 

A volunteer in Orange County Health Center, on Wednesday, November 16th, Dr. Clayton Chau, called it “the beginning of the end of COVID-19.” 

 

California has experienced a surge in their ICU that made them implement a stay-at-home order optimistic about the vaccine.

 

The Governor further stated, “It’s been a very optimistic 48 hours,” Gov Newsom said, “however the arrival of the vaccine is too little too late to help combat this winter surge of cases and hospitalizations.”

covid vaccine

When Will the Vaccine Be Available to Most People?

As we’re already seeing, the first people are the frontline workers, who can’t get ill because of how important they are in the fight against the coronavirus. Each person needs two doses of the vaccine. And the state has allotted about 327,000 doses for the healthcare workers

 

According to Dr. Olivia Kasirye of the Sacramento County Public Health Office, she said “We anticipate that early spring will be the earliest that we will be able to make it available to the general public”.

 

How Much Will the Vaccine Cost?

Completely free. The United State’s government has taken full responsibility for the vaccine. According to sources, the US government has invested $10 million into the research, manufacturing, development, and distribution of vaccines. 

 

Sources:

https://abc30.com/governor-newsom-update-california-coronavirus-ca-covid-gavin/8796627/

 

https://www.ocregister.com/2020/12/16/first-covid-19-vaccine-doses-arrive-at-orange-county-hospitals/

 

https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/vaccine-coverage-pricing-and-reimbursement-in-the-u-s/