As coronavirus cases continue to rise in the U.S. and locally, the drug company Pfizer announced Monday that the COVID-19 vaccine it’s working on may be up to 90 percent effective.
While not everyone will be able to get it right away, some Central Coast first responders will.
Officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base announced they will be one of the first places to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. They say the number of doses they’ll potentially receive will be enough for the entire facility.
"When you think about getting potentially 10,000 doses that's going to go a long way here at team Vandenberg," 30th Space Wing Commander, Col. Anthony Mastalir said.
A vaccine that can potentially be a breakthrough in the fight against the virus will be delivered specifically to the base sometime in November.
"It's coming at the time that the world needs it the most, right now only in the U.S we have 100,000 victims of COVID every day," CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla said.
According to Governor Gavin Newsom, although not everyone in the U.S will be able to get the vaccine right now, they are hoping by next year's distribution to the less vulnerable population will increase.
"As we move through these winter months and start to see a mass distribution of these vaccines in April, May, June, July, September and October of next year,” said Gov. Newsom.
Since the vaccines come in a process of two shots per person, officials at Vandenberg say depending on the number of vaccines they receive, they have a plan for who will be getting them first.
"As you can imagine we will start with our healthcare workers.. we are looking at folks that manage critical infrastructure," Mastalir said.
They add this will be voluntary and not mandatory.
"Which is why it's important that you do your own research.. that you personally come to the conclusion that the benefits outweigh the risks," Mastalir said.
As of right now, no one outside the base will be getting that vaccine, but officials at Vandenberg stated they hope they could in the near future be a distribution hub for the Central Coast.
According to Pfizer about 30 to 40 million doses of the vaccine will be distributed by the end of the year which would be enough for more than 15 million people.