Fresno County health official: COVID-19 vaccines not yet confirmed for next month
Fresno County’s top health official said he’s hopeful vaccines are coming to the region next month — but he has gotten no confirmation that’s happening from state officials.
Interim Health Officer Rais Vohra’s comments Friday appear to contradict comments this week from some members of Fresno City Council, who seemed confident vaccines were coming next month.
Vohra said the county does have space to store 100,000 doses and is asking for that amount from state health officials — but the number has not been finalized.
“We will certainly request that amount because that’s how much we can store,” he said on Friday. “We haven’t been told by the state that we will get that much. We’re staying optimistic.”
Fresno City Council members Miguel Arias, Esmeralda Soria and Luis Chavez told the Bee on Tuesday that the number had been finalized for Dec. 15, assuming the process remained on schedule. The three of them and others had met with Vohra the previous day.
Vohra clarified what he told them on Monday. “What I actually said was we have the capacity to have 100,000 vaccines and we’re hoping to get the first amount on Dec. 15,” Vohra said on Friday.
“I do believe that’s true. We’re certainly hoping the state comes through with 100,000, but we haven’t gotten an email or notification that we’re officially going to be getting that.”
Vohra said the county is working on finding more storage space that could be used to store vaccines, which may have to remain at extremely cold temperatures, depending on the vaccine maker.
It’s unclear if the vaccine would come from Pfizer or Moderna — two drug companies that have reported successful testing.
The vaccine takes two doses to work, according to Vohra, who noted the safety precautions related to COVID-19 will still be with Fresno County residents for some time.
“It won’t be automatic overnight the pandemic is over,” he said. “I think that would be a very naive way to interpret this news.”
The vaccine will go out in waves, starting with essential workers and people who are vulnerable to the virus, Vohra said. The next obstacle will be those averse to vaccines in general.
Vohra said the vaccines have been tested and vetted, noting the federal government’s plan for getting the coronavirus vaccine out to the public called Operation Warp Speed.
“There’s just a lot of misinformation and skepticism related to vaccines,” he said. “People need to understand this is one of the really reliable things that we have here in the U.S.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 6:00 PM.
