Mayor Bowser’s Situational Briefing: How the Pfizer Vaccine Roll Out will Unfold in DC

Mayor Bowser Situational Briefing: How the Pfizer Vaccine Roll Out will Unfold in DC

by Larry Janezich

Mayor Bowser held a Situational Briefing today to describe how the Pfizer Vaccine roll out will unfold.

DC’s first allocation of the vaccine will be 6825 doses. Delivery of additional allocations will be on a weekly or every-other week basis, and it is uncertain how many doses will be in those allocations. 

People will be vaccinated in stages.

It’s not clear how soon those in the first phase will start getting vaccinated because two things have to happen first after the Pfizer vaccine receives Emergency Use Authorization , regardless of when DC gets the vaccine and it’s not clear how long that will take:

• The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) must issue recommendations for vaccine distribution.
• Vaccinators must be fully trained.

Six sites (those that have the necessary equipment to store the Pfizer vaccine) will receive DC’s initial allotment.

• Medstar Washington Hospital Center
• Howard University Hospital
• The George Washington University Hospital
• Children’s National Hospital
• Kaiser Permanente
• MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

These six sites will partner with health care providers across the city.

• DC Fire & EMS and DC frontline public health workers
• HSC Pediatric Center
• National Rehabilitation Hospital
• Psychiatric Institute of Washington
• Saint Elizabeths Hospital
• Sibley Memorial Hospital
• United Medical Center

For example: Children’s National will partner with United Medical Center and Kaiser will partner with DC Government to vaccinate FEMS and other frontline public health workers.

In line with CDC guidance, DC is using a phased approach for distribution.

• Phase 1A – Healthcare workers and first responders (There are 85,000 in this category)
• Phase 1B – Essential workers and at risk residents
• Phase 2 – The rest of Phase 1 and the general public
• Phase 3 – General public

Who is included in Phase 1A?

• Full and Part Time Hospital Staff (33,850)
• Nursing and Residential Care Facility Employees (14,810)
• Outpatient Providers and Ancillary Care Providers (11,445)
• Home Health Providers (8,115)
• Health Care Providers in Long-Term Care Facilities (7,860)
• Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians (5,300)
• Emergency Services & Public Safety, e.g. Fire and EMS (3,170)
• Frontline Public Health Personnel (550)

Who is included in Phase 1B?

• Persons 65 years and older (84,960 )
• Adults 19 – 64 with High Risk Conditions (163,000)
• DC Government Critical Infrastructure Personnel (3,800)
• Law enforcement and Public Safety (10,500)
• Department of Corrections Residents and Staff (2,921)
• Residential Care Community Residents (1,220)
• Nursing Home Residents (1,260)
• Residents Experiencing Homelessness and
• Transitional Housing Residents (6,521)
• Grocery Store Employees (9,590)
• Childcare Providers and Staff (7,000)
• School Teachers and Staff (20,000)

Dr. LaQuandra Nesbittt, Director of the DC Department of Health, urged residents to take the vaccine as it become available as opposed to waiting for a specific vaccine, warning that the federal government may decide that certain allocations may go to different parts of the country.