FDA emergency use clearance for third COVID-19 vaccine set to boost state’s efforts
Washington is on track to soon add more COVID-19 vaccines to its arsenal following Saturday’s FDA emergency use authorization of a one-shot dose.
Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine gained FDA emergency use clearance at a critical time in boosting the nation’s supply of vaccines.
The company has pledged to supply 100 million doses by end of June. That, along with the 600 million doses from the two-shot vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna by the end of July, would give all U.S. adults the chance to be vaccinated.
The state Department of Health noted Feb. 25 that if approved, the state would likely be allocated 60,900 doses of the vaccine next week.
This would be in addition to its allocation already with the Pfizer and Moderna supply, which is also increasing in the coming weeks.
According to DOH, the following weeks’ allocations are as follows:
▪ Week of February 28: 279,800 total doses (156,640 first doses, 123,160 second doses)
▪ Week of March 7: 285,200 total doses (156,640 first doses, 128,560 second doses)
▪ Week of March 14: 313,280 total doses (156,640 first doses, 156,640 second doses)
Before its official rollout, the vaccine also faces review in the coming days by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Scientific Safety Review Workgroup as part of the Western States Pact. This additional review plan was set up in the early days of vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna.
The Johnson & Johnson single-shot dose is currently being explored by federal and state health officials as a vaccine to use among populations where scheduling second doses can be more challenging.
State officials on Thursday said they were waiting for final guidance from FDA and the CDC before finalizing plans about where to distribute the vaccine.
“We would like, and really are anticipating that the federal government will give some best-use guidelines of either settings or populations, where this vaccine would be most effective, or best optimized in terms of its usage,” said state Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah at Thursday’s news briefing.
“And so that can include settings where it’s difficult to get a second dose and or populations where maybe difficult to get a second dose in or where you really believe that a booster dose is is absolutely critical, or where in certain instances with certain kinds of occupations, such as agricultural workers are maritime workers, where it’s very difficult to go back to the second dosing.”
Health officials noted in previous DOH briefings that equity issues will be taken into consideration with the J&J vaccine, given perceptions based on topline efficacy numbers from trials. Health officials have maintained in news briefings the results actually are more nuanced and defend it as still a notably worthwhile vaccine.
The J&J brand vaccine showed a 72 percent efficacy rate in the U.S. clinical trial against moderate illness, which is lower than the 92-94 percent rate in Pfizer and Moderna tests. The J&J vaccines offered an 85 percent efficacy against severe forms of COVID-19 and 100 percent efficacy against hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
On Saturday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, told The New York Times on Saturday that people should not focus solely on the J&J efficacy rate in comparison with the previous two vaccines.
“Don’t get caught up, necessarily, on the number game, because it’s a really good vaccine, and what we need is as many good vaccines as possible,” Fauci said. “Rather than parsing the difference between 94 and 72, accept the fact that now you have three highly effective vaccines. Period.”
State health officials echoed those sentiments Thursday, noting the first use is to help finish vaccinating those in the 1A and 1B vaccine groups.
“It doesn’t matter which one you take, whether it’s Pfizer, or Moderna or Johnson & Johnson, if it’s available, take it,” said Dr. Scott Lindquist, state epidemiologist for Communicable Diseases with DOH.
This story was originally published February 27, 2021 at 4:49 PM.
