SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s Note: This livestream has ended, but you can watch the video on demand in the player above.
(Original Story)
With Thursday’s news that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is one step away from the beginning widespread distribution in the United States, we’re bringing together local experts to answer your questions about vaccines, how they will be distributed and what happens next.
On Thursday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m., KSAT anchor Isis Romero will host a livestream discussion with a panel of doctors and experts from San Antonio Metro Health and other health and government agencies to give you the most pertinent information about vaccines in South Texas. You can watch in the video player above, on KSAT.com and our free streaming app, KSAT-TV.
When and where will I be able to get a vaccine? Do I have to take one? How many doses do I need? Who gets the vaccine first? Will I get sick after the immunization? How many vaccines are there? How do I know it’s safe? (Let us know in the prompt below what questions you want answered.)
The following experts will be on the livestream to answer questions, ranging from the efficacy and advantages of the vaccines to the virus’ impact on communities of color and how the faith community will play a role in distribution:
- Dr. Ruth Berggren, UT Health Professor of Medicine; Director for the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics, member of the Metro Health’s COVID-19 Community Response Coalition
- Dr. Junda Woo, Metro Health Medical Director and Bexar County Health Authority
- Rev. Dr. Kenneth Kemp, Pastor of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church for last 11 years and a Board Certified Pulmonologist and Intensivist. Retired Colonel, US Army Medical Corps with 25 years of service. Served as part of the City’s Health Transition and Economic Transition Teams in the Spring.
Barring any major derailments, the first shipment of a vaccine could be distributed to a small group of Americans — like frontline health care workers — by mid-December, and a few more million doses for other high-risk people might be available by January.
Ultimately, the majority of Americans could have the option to take a vaccine by as early as the middle of 2021, which could be the beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
The immunization for COVID-19 has been developed at record-breaking speed. Now comes the enormous challenge of distributing hundreds of millions of doses across the country in an organized and timely fashion.
Read more reporting from KSAT on vaccines below:
Your questions answered: COVID-19 vaccine in Texas
H-E-B gearing up to distribute COVID-19 vaccines
Texas to receive 1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, governor says
Once a COVID-19 vaccine is available, what will that look like locally? Metro Health discusses plan
Gov. Greg Abbott says COVID-19 vaccine will go to health care workers, vulnerable Texans first
Who will receive the COVID-19 vaccine first and how will it be distributed?
What’s in the coronavirus vaccine, and how could it possibly affect me once I get it?