Fresno dentist offering COVID-19 vaccine shots from his office

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Valley dentist is doing his part during the pandemic by not just helping patients fight cavities, but now also offering COVID-19 vaccinations from his Fresno dental office

"It's funny when patients come in, they say I didn't even know I could get it at the dental office," said Dr. Alex Denes at Fresno Dental Studio.

In January, the state approved an emergency waiver allowing California dentists to administer the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic.

Dr. Alex Denes, along with his wife Dr. Claudia Denes, completed several training and safety courses mandated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The process also required them to purchase a special freezer to store doses of the vaccine.

"We had to go through a lot of approval processes and site inspections and all that. We built an online scheduling system that anybody can use so we're vaccinating patients and non-patients as well," Denes said.

Dr. Denes said he decided to open his dental office as a way to help the community during the pandemic.

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Eligible individuals can receive the Moderna shot here after hours and on Saturdays.

"Of course the vaccine is provided by the government so we don't charge anybody anything. The most important thing by them using the online pre-appointment system - they do get all the paperwork in order so we streamline the process so there won't be any wait when they come in."

According to Dr. Denes. his office receives between 200 to 300 doses of the Moderna vaccine a week.

He hopes by offering his services more local dentists will join him in volunteering to administer the shot.

"I think I'm one of the few, I don't want to say I'm the only one because I'd like to encourage others to do the same and hopefully they'll be more," he said.

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