San Diego County Health Officials are initially expecting 28,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine once it gets FDA approval.
The first phase of vaccinations will include frontline health care workers and those in long-term care facilities. With limited doses, the very first vaccines are being prioritized specifically for those in acute care, psychiatric and correctional facility hospitals.
Sharp HealthCare is one of the local hospital systems expecting initial doses of the vaccine, which could come by next week.
"We're thinking there may be fewer people in the first week [taking it] and as others see how it goes that we may see an increase," said Sharp HealthCare vice president of system pharmacy and clinical nutrition Suzanne Shea. "Of course, we’re limited by the amount of vaccine that we receive from the county."
Shea said Sharp officials have been preparing for this for weeks, but are not exactly sure how many doses will be given to them at first. She said they will go to employees working in high-risk situations: "Emergency departments, our ICU's, urgent care areas — the folks who are most at risk."
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Sharp has thousands of frontline workers in San Diego County eligible for first vaccinations.
"We’ll get the communication out to our employees and have them schedule themselves — so it’s not mandatory," Shea said.
Other local hospital systems including Rady Children's, Scripps Health care, Palomar Health and UC San Diego Health told KPBS staff are finalizing vaccine plans for frontline workers.
The state of California has chosen Rady Children's Hospital as a site to store vaccines. County officials say the second round of vaccines is expected in three to four weeks.
It could take more than a month to vaccinate all frontline health care workers. Health officials have said it could take until March or April for vaccines to be available for all Americans.
