Massachusetts will receive nearly 60,000 doses of Pfizer COVID vaccine for its first shipment, Governor Charlie Baker said

The federal government plans to send nearly 60,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Massachusetts for its first shipment, the Baker administration announced Friday evening.

The Baker administration submitted its vaccine request on Friday and was told it would receive 59,475 in its first shipment, the administration said in a press release.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to send the state 300,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the first month. These doses will be for the first of a two-dose regimen, the administration said.

The state is finalizing its vaccine distribution plans, which it will roll out in stages that will prioritize frontline healthcare workers and elderly residents with the highest risk factors.

The first shipment would go to larger hospitals, followed by community health centers, then doctor’s offices across the state. One hurdle for hospitals and other medical facilities in the state is that they don’t have the freezers needed to store Pfizer vaccine at doses of minus 80 degrees Celsius (minus 112 Fahrenheit).

Another concern is whether those eligible for the vaccine will take it. A survey of 415 adults conducted by the Western New England University Polling Institute suggests that at least a third of Massachusetts residents are unlikely to take the vaccine.

The COVID-19 vaccine advisory group presented its vaccine distribution plan to the governor on Wednesday. The recommendations would finalize those made in the draft interim plan released in October.

The draft interim plan suggested that the state would deploy the vaccine in three phases. Health workers treating patients with COVID-19, some essential workers and those at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 would receive the first doses, followed by other health workers and possibly the rest of the public .

When asked about the vaccine distribution plan, Gov. Charlie Baker declined to give more details on the latest recommendations and said he would share more information next week.

The vaccine alone would not trigger a waiver of coronavirus restrictions. Public Health Department officials have told medics to expect restrictions, such as the mask warrant and travel order, to continue a bit longer to ensure everyone is vaccinated.

The latest schedule depends on the approval of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. The UK has approved the candidate vaccine, after clinical trials have shown it to be 95% effective. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a meeting scheduled for Dec. 10 to consider whether to issue an emergency use authorization for the company, which would allow it to begin distributing the vaccine early.

Moderna also applied for emergency use authorization for its vaccine candidate, which it said was 94% effective. The FDA has a meeting the following week to review the request.

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