Finding your place in the vaccine line
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Santa Barbara County is expecting the COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday. The first rounds of doses are slated for hospital frontline workers. After that, the doses will follow the California Department of Public Health tiered allocation for the vaccine.
Santa Barbara Public Health director Van Do-Reynoso has heard concerns about the vaccine. “I understand that some people might be nervous about the COVID vaccine. And that’s totally reasonable. But I know also, that researchers have been working on this vaccine for many many years,” Do-Reynoso said.
Do-Reynoso thinks she would be in the second tier of the distribution. She expects enough doses for the public to be available in the spring.
“If you have an opportunity to take the vaccine I think that you should,” she said.
The New York Times has created a calculator to help estimate where someone’s place in the "vaccine line" would be. It asks for age, county and type of profession.
The only vaccine currently available is the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine. The FDA is currently reviewing a vaccine developed by phamaceutical giant Moderna. Both vaccines are administered in two shots, three weeks apart. Each shot will be administered in a person’s upper arm.
