SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - As some San Diego vaccination sites are closed due to a shortage, California Governor Gavin Newsom said expected doses through the next few weeks are expected to increase.
The current shortage is due to a delay in shipping because of severe weather happening in other parts of the country. Friday and Saturday appointments at Petco Park were rescheduled. Friday, a San Diego County release revealed the more than 50,000 missed doses owed to the county should arrive in the next week.
Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted Friday morning saying during the week of Feb. 21, California is expected to get 1,375,050 doses, then 1,404,950 doses the week of Feb. 28, then 1,525,780 doses the week of March 7. In the tweet, he went on to say “Modest increases every week. Good news. And we’re ready for more when they have it.”
RELATED: San Diego County expects delayed vaccine shipments by end of next week
Despite the current shortages, Dr. Christian Ramers, Infectious Disease Specialist and Chief of Population Health at Family Health Centers of San Diego, said he expects the predictions from the governor to be fairly accurate.
“I think the projections are going to get a little more accurate. It’s been a big complaint of vaccinators like us and like people running the larger sites that it’s very hard to plan when we just don’t have a good expectation of what’s going to come,” said Ramers.
He added that a new program where doses get shipped directly to vaccination sites will likely help stop future delays.
RELATED: San Diego County begins to pause vaccine appointments due to shipment delays
During Friday’s press conference, Newsom also announced that 10% of all vaccinations will be set aside for teachers.
“Beginning with a baseline of 75,000 doses that will be made available and set aside for those educators and childcare workers that are supporting our efforts to get kids back to in-person instruction,” said Newsom.
The same day these announcements were made about increased doses and teacher allotment, Pfizer also submitted findings to the FDA revealing the freezing storage temperatures might not be necessary, and also one single dose may be safe enough. Ramers said there are studies currently happening that look into the effectiveness of just one dose of multiple company’s vaccines, but for now, he advises everyone stick to the recommendations.
“I still think we’re in a world where we want to get everybody two doses as was originally studied, but I think it’s a little reassuring that people are going to likely be up to a 92% protection if they just get that single dose,” said Ramers.