Valley Children’s Hospital to serve as regional distribution center for COVID-19 vaccine

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) – The Valley Children’s Hospital has been chosen to be the central California site for the storage and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines when they reach the area.

The hospital said in a statement Wednesday that it has sufficient ultra-low-temperature freezing capacity to store up to several hundred thousand doses of Pfizer vaccine, the first vaccine against the coronavirus that is expected to receive the federal approval.

The hospital does not yet know when the doses will be delivered and how exactly it will distribute them.

However, the hospital said that, according to California Department of Public Health guidelines, it “should receive, store, and distribute the vaccine to other health care providers and organizations in our area.”

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine should be stored in specialized freezers at 94 degrees below zero.

Valley Children’s CEO Todd Suntrapak said, “We will need to receive, store and distribute the vaccine to other providers and healthcare organizations in our area.

Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig said the county’s public health department was also ready.

“The county bought these big freezing facilities, so we have the capacity, I believe, to store 100,000 units of vaccine if it needs extremely cold storage,” Magsig said.

In the case of the Pfizer version of the vaccine, 100,000 units means that 50,000 people could receive the vaccine because it requires two doses.

The CDC’s list of priority vaccines includes workers and residents of nursing homes.

58 California counties are pushing to be among the first to receive the vaccine.

Magsig said he believes the valley’s role in producing food for the rest of the country will work in Fresno County’s favor when it comes to distribution.

“Because of what we’re doing and the fact that we have a lot of people here who have been affected by the virus, I think we’ll be on the front lines when it comes to distribution from state to counties,” said Magsig told me.

Magsig said he expects Fresno County to receive its first vaccine delivery later this month.