San Diego City Wire

The much-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine will soon be distributed, prompting counties across the country to prepare for administering it to American citizens. San Diego County will be issued roughly 28,000 doses to administer. 

The Food and Drug Administration issued its approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Dec. 11 for use in emergency situations, CBS 8 reported. 

Health officials have explained the complex delivery and distribution process, beginning from the vaccine’s place of origin in Kalamazoo, Michigan. 

The vaccines will be placed on trucks, transported to airports and from there shipped via plane around the nation. The vaccines then will be delivered via FedEx and UPS and, in order to ensure they are maintained in the required temperature-controlled conditions, Pfizer is utilizing GPS thermal sensors. 

San Diego County has roughly 39,000 health care workers, but the first shipment of roughly 28,000 vaccines will only cover about 72% of those individuals. 

It is anticipated that the next shipments, expected in January, will cover the remainder of the health care workers and nursing home residents considered at high risk of contracting the virus. 

Following these groups are seniors, including those with underlying conditions, and essential workers. 

By spring 2021 the general public will be next in line for the vaccine. 

Given the timeline for the release of the vaccine, experts recommend that the public continue exercising extreme caution to ensure that the virus does not spread more than is absolutely unavoidable. 

The doses, while in transport, will be protected by the U.S. Marshals Service.