Gov. Newsom announces CA dentists cleared to administer COVID-19 vaccine

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that dentists in California can now administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

Walnut Creek practitioner Dr. David Nisenboym says dentists are well versed in giving shots.

Now these tooth doctors have been cleared to administer the COVID-19 vaccine as the rollout expands to more populations.

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"I think one of the reasons they did this is that dental offices are pretty well positioned to do something like this," Niesenboym says. "Obviously dentists give a lot of shots and we also follow OSHA protocols so we keep things very clean here."

Since the start of the pandemic, the local dentist says he's added even more safety protocols to the office.

"We have closed our reception room so we don't have people coming in and out of there, Niesenboym says. "Every space every area is wiped down whenever a patient walks through there. We're just trying to keep everything as clean as possible."

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Nisenboym recounts that he received an email from the California Dental Board during the first week of January that included additional training.

However, the doctor adds that no concrete guidance yet from the state on how he will get, store or administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

RELATED: Gov. Newsom says 1 million Californians will be vaccinated in the next 10 days

"Obviously we don't have the refrigeration capability that is required to store the vaccine so I don't know how that's going to work," he says. "There are still a lot of details that need to be hashed out."

Niesenboym explains that while patients have not called inquiring about getting their vaccine quite yet, he expects that to change as more people hear of the governor's order.

"I'm sure dentists are just as excited to get back to life as normal, so if we can help get back to there and people are happy to come here and get their shot, I'm sure that it'll be a win-win for everybody," says Nisenboym.

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