SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – Medical experts say it’s likely the first group of people will begin getting the first COVID-19 vaccine during the 3rd week of December.
“The first group will probably be health care workers and older people in nursing homes, second group may be essential workers and those over 65 with other illnesses,” said Chair, U.C. San Francisco Dept. of Medicine Dr. Robert Wachter.
Dr. Robert Wachter says those first two groups constituting about 150 to 200 million Americans will be vaccinated by April.
That leaves about 130 million younger healthier Americans who he thinks can be vaccinated by the end of summer.
“When you hit about 70 or 75% of people having received both doses or vaccine that are 95% effective, you reach heard immunity in the right way.
Wachter says that means enough people have been vaccinated to be immune from getting COVID-19, meaning the virus begins to die out.
“It’s not unrealistic to think we reach that in the Summer, and when we reach that, its when life starts getting back to normal.”
A system will need to be set up so they know which group we fall into and when we can get the vaccine.
