IOWA - The state of Iowa is expected to deliver 26,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine within the state Monday.
The first shipments of the vaccine were sent out Sunday from the company's distribution site in Michigan.
The Iowa Department of Public Health says the first people to get the COVID-19 vaccine in the state are health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities.
The department says the rest of the vaccine doses will go to CVS and Walgreens to be administered to residents and staff in long term care facilities.
It could be Spring before a vaccine is available to everyone.
The rollout of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines over a three weeks period this month is broken down below.
The CDC is allocating the COVID-19 vaccine to Iowa based on population size and target populations.
Expected Approximate Vaccine Allocation:
- Expect around 12/13/20
- 26,000-Pfizer 23,000-Total
- Expect around 12/20/20
- 31,000-Pfizer 54,000 -Moderna 85,000-Total
- Expect around 12/27/20
- 38,000-Pfizer 24,000-Moderna 61,000-Total
- Total in first 3 weeks
- Total for three weeks of deliveries - 95,000-Pfizer 77,000-Moderna 172,000-Total
Recent polling has shown that up to a quarter of the U.S. adult population will not get the vaccine when it becomes available, and another quarter of the population aren't sure.
Experts estimate at least 70 percent of the U.S. population needs to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, or the point at which enough people are protected that the virus can be held in check.