Public health officials pushing for faster vaccination
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — It has been four weeks since the first doses of Pfizer-BioTech’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in California.
Last week the first second dose of that vaccine were administered at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara.
On Tuesday the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services, Dr. Mark Ghaly, said 99,000 Californians have received both needed doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
However, many are questioning the speed California and Santa Barbara County are vaccinating the public. Tuesday Santa Barbara Public Health officials said the county has received 16,775 doses. Of those dose about 8,520 have been given.
While Dr. Ghaly said California Governor Gavin Newsom wants one million more shots given by this weekend, he didn’t mention where those shots will be given or where those vaccines are coming from.
Dr. Ghaly said there are millions of vaccine doses in Federal Government freezers. Governor Newsom and other governors have asked the Federal Government to make those doses more available.
The current vaccination phase is to vaccinate healthcare workers treating those with COVID-19. A spokeswoman for Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics said, on January 2, they vaccinated 140 of their 175 staff members. They vaccinated an addition 10 on December 30. The other 25 either were on vacation or opted out.
Dr. Ghaly, as well as local health official, encourage anyone who is able to get a vaccine to do so. And when they get a vaccine know which one they got, either Pfizer-BioTech or Moderna’s, so they know which second dose and when to get fully vaccinated.
