LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Calling it the “hope on the horizon,” Governor Steve Sisolak was joined by Candace McDaniel and Shannon Bennett, members of the vaccine planning team, to release details behind the state’s vaccine distribution plan.
In his press conference Wednesday afternoon, Governor Sisolak said the state anticipates the COVID-19 vaccine will be available in limited doses within the “next week or so.” Although, officials do not expect widespread vaccination until the spring.
While mentioning the hopeful news of multiple vaccines preparing for distribution, Governor Sisolak also discussed the current COVID-19 situation in Nevada. The Governor said the state is not seeing a downward trajectory in any of the metric that the state tracks.
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Governor Sisolak also highlighted this recent upward trend is even without the spike expected to come soon due to the recent Thanksgiving holiday.
The State of Nevada plans to allow for vaccinations on a tiered system, with frontline workers (healthcare workers, hospital workers, correctional facility staff, law enforcement, etc.), making up most of the first tier. They will be the first to receive the vaccine in the state.
Also within the first vaccine allocation, a portion will be set aside for CVS and Walgreens to distribute to “members of our vulnerable population who work and reside in long term care facilities.”
For a look at the full “playbook” for the Nevada vaccine distribution plan, click the link below:
Officials say the vaccine will not be released unless it is deemed safe, but as McDaniel mentioned, the vaccine has seen a 95-percent efficacy rate. That indicates a 95-percent reduction in disease occurrence among the vaccinated group throughout testing in trials.
Once the vaccine is approved, distribution will begin to all counties, and vaccination can begin with the those in the first tier.
To view the full tiered approach for the State of Nevada vaccine distribution plan, click through the slideshow below:
Officials say they are currently working with counties to make sure they have the proper storage for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Officials say they expect widespread vaccination to begin next year, sometime between the spring and mid-2021.
