Washington health officials believe the state will receive enough vaccines for 400,000 in December. | Stock Photo
Washington health officials believe the state will receive enough vaccines for 400,000 in December. | Stock Photo
The state Department of Health projected that enough shots of the COVID-19 vaccine will be available by the end of December to vaccinate approximately 400,000 people.
Health officials anticipate Washington receiving 62,400 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine by Dec. 15, with an additional 222,000 before the month's end, health officials said, King 5 news reported. The remaining doses would come from the Moderna vaccine, approximately 180,000 if the FDA approves that drug.
"We are ready to roll as soon as we have vaccines," Kevin Caserta, chief medical officer for Providence Southwest Washington, said, King 5 news reported. He added that his hospitals in Olympia and Centralia are presently treating 50 COVID-19 patients.
The Department of Health selected 17 sites across 13 counties to receive the first applications of the vaccine.
Acting Assistant Secretary of Prevention and Community Health Michele Roberts would not offer specifics when asked by King 5 News to give a statement on where the vaccine is going, highlighting security concerns.
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