The Louisiana Health Department expects to begin receiving the first COVID vaccine by mid-December. Stacy Hall, Director of the Office of Public Health Immunization Program says they are waiting on guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on who gets vaccinated first.
“Healthcare providers and healthcare personnel that provide direct would be essential. So our initial planning, even if they’re not first they’ll probably be right up in the top two.”
Hall says another priority group will be those with preexisting conditions and most likely to succumb to the virus.
Healthcare personnel includes those who provide janitorial and other essential services in hospital settings and have direct contact with patients.
Hall predicts that the public will then be able to receive COVID vaccinations by mid-2021.
“Probably the mid to late summer would be some of the estimates, now that can always change with additional products coming on the market, or anything different or unexpected happening.”
The Pfizer vaccine is expected to receive FDA approval the second week of December and then ship out to states. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require cold storage and Hall says they have already tested protocols for distribution.
“We’ve seen how the Transport Thermal Tipper works and how we can keep that, as well as identify ultra-cold space around the state.”
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