The door-to-door Corona Virus Testing pilot program is taking place in Northern California. The program is gearing toward the majority Latino community that has become a virus hot spot.
Door-to-door Program and Self-Testing Kits
Self-testing kits will go out by Santa Clara County volunteers in the East San Jose neighborhood of Silicon Valley’s San Jose last week. 55 percent of the population is Latino. The officials say many residents cannot readily access testing sites.
Door-to-Door Virus Testing: People of Color are More Vulnerable to COVID-19
Nationwide, communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by the virus.
Therefore, 325,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are on their way to California as of Sunday. This is amid what is reporting as record-setting case numbers and dwindling intensive care unit capacity. As a result, Santa Clara County is stepping its efforts with the door-to-door virus testing.
First Shipments of the Pfizer Vaccine
Moreover, early Sunday, the first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine left Michigan for 145 distribution centers nationwide. As a result, states will get vaccines based on the adult population. Then additional shipments are coming this week.
Vaccine Shortage
Heading to hospitals and other sites, the vaccine can be stored at extremely low temperatures. They held at about 94 degrees below zero. Pfizer is using containers with dry ice. The GPS-enabled sensors make sure that each shipment stays colder than the weather in Antarctica.
Counties will have specific allotments. They will be given to hospitals by state health officials that has adequate storage capacity. Therefore, they serve a high-risk health care population. In turn, they have the ability to vaccinate people fast. This was in part brought on in California. But on Saturday, they produced another record day of new confirmed cases. There is a priority to inoculate health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has infected more than 16 million people. 298,000 lives in the U.S. alone has been affected.
Governor Gavin Newsom is Hot on the Heels of the COVID-19 Vaccination
Medical experts brought together by the Western states met this past Saturday to discuss the vaccine. It is safe for public use. Governor Gavin Newsom sent out a Tweet about this meeting. He also said that the distribution would begin as early as this past Sunday.