County, YRMC revealing new details on arrival of COVID-19 vaccine

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - We’re learning more about the upcoming arrival of the coronavirus vaccine in Yuma County. By month’s end, many frontline workers could be vaccinated as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on the verge of its final decision.

The state of Arizona will receive over 380,000 vaccines for the first initial phase of distribution, Yuma County says it is likely to only see less than 2% of the doses.

With less than 5,000 vaccines, you’re probably wondering who will receive the shot first.

It will be prioritized with healthcare workers up first then essential workers and those with underlying medical conditions, as well as the elderly.

Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC) confirming to 13 On Your Side that it will receive the Moderna vaccine in a matter of weeks.

Dr. Bharat Magu is the chief medical officer for Yuma Regional.

“We were just notified that we are getting the Moderna, we are not getting the Pfizer. Moderna is very beneficial to us. It does not need that ultra-low temperature. Moderna is distributed thru McKesson, we directly have a relationship with McKesson so it will be still technically be routed through the county. But we will receive the shipments directly from the distributor,” the doctor said.

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine requires two doses per person, meaning, whatever amount the county gets will have to be split in half.

“We hope to receive 2,000, that's up in the air, I'm hoping to get that. And that will really cover a lot of our staff. Most of our staff will be covered, directly engaged in patient care,” Dr. Magu explained.

Meanwhile, the FDA is one step closer to approving Pfizer's emergency use authorization application for its vaccine.

After approval from the FDA, it’s the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) turn where a committee must also give the vaccine a green light.

“We want to make sure you know community accepts and gets this vaccination, we know for a fact there are a significant number of people in this community who are still not exposed and vulnerable to the disease. But again, I think the good point here is that we are now and have some visibility into the end of this whole situation,” Dr. Magu suggested.

YRMC hopes to vaccinate its clinical staff who are in direct contact with patients on a day-to-day basis.

The hospital tells us that the first shipment could come as early as December 21st.