RENO, Nev. (AP) — Washoe County Health District Officer Kevin Dick said Wednesday nearly half of the hospital workers, first-responders and others in the priority category have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Reno-Sparks area but it’s unrealistic to think the shots will be available to the general public before late spring or early summer.

Gov. Steve Sisolak scheduled a news conference Wednesday afternoon to provide an update on the vaccination effort statewide.

“I think we are doing fairly well here in Washoe County,” Dick told reporters.

Of the roughly 30,000 people in the county in Tier 1, he estimates 10,000 to 15,000 have received the first dose of the vaccination.

In Clark County including Las Vegas, 13,467 vaccines have been administered, the Southern Nevada Health District said Wednesday.

Dick said once 80% of Tier 1 has been vaccinated, the district can begin to move to Tier 2, which includes essential workers and anyone 75 or older. He expects that to happen around Jan. 25.

Dick said earlier projections by some that general population vaccinations — Tier 4 — could begin by the end of February or March are not realistic.

“Tier 2 has close to 200,000 in it. It is going to be a big one to work through. We estimate we'll be getting to Tier 3 by early spring. And Tier 4 may be late spring, early summer,” he said.

The seven-day moving average for new coronavirus cases in Washoe County has fallen from a peak of 538 just before Thanksgiving to 281 currently, but Dick said he thinks the current average is artificially low because of a lull in testing since Christmas.

“I do believe we are in a decline but not that low,” he said.

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Sam Metz is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.