###

Dian Pecora, a member of the COVID-19 vaccine planning team with the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), got emotional when announcing today’s exciting news: “We have received our first doses of vaccine,” she says in the video above.

Specifically, the county got 975 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which must be stored in ultra-low temperature freezers. The county has partnered with Eureka’s St. Joseph Hospital, where vaccines doses for both Humboldt and Del Norte County are being stored. 

Pecora said health care providers hope to be putting “shots in arms” by the end of this week. 

Phase one in the three-phase distribution plan will see doses administered to health care workers, primarily in hospitals, Pecora said. Supplies will be limited for a while.

“In the meantime, please remember: Vaccines do not work immediately. They take time, Pecora said. “So continue your safety precautions. Be safe. Wear your masks, distance your space and hand wash.”