SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota health officials say they are preparing to receive nearly 8,000 COVID-19 vaccinations as soon as Dec. 15. The prospect of vaccines being just weeks away offered a blip of good news in the state’s coronavirus crisis, but officials from the Department of Health said they don’t yet know when more doses will arrive.

Medical providers can begin administering the 7,800 doses of the vaccine, manufactured by Pfizer Inc., the day after the shipment is received. Medical workers are expected to be at the top of the list to receive vaccines, with the elderly and other vulnerable populations soon to follow.