New COVID-19 Vaccine Could Help WA Make Up For Lost Time

OLYMPIA, WA - The impending approval of a new COVID-19 vaccine and a growing supply of the other two vaccines have the state Department of Health (DOH) confident that Washington can make up for last week's lost ground.

Johnson & Johnson is seeking FDA approval for a new, one-dose COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA will meet Friday to review Johnson and Johnson's emergency use authorization. If they give the go-ahead, it could be a game-changer for Washington.

"If everything goes well, we could have this vaccine in our state later next week," said Michele Roberts, head of the state's COVID-19 vaccine and distribution planning team.

After the FDA signs on, the new vaccine would then be double-checked by both the CDC and researchers with Western States Pact. If it passes all those checks, Washington would receive 60,900 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by the end of the next week.

Even without the new vaccine, Washington is set to receive more vaccines over the next few weeks. The current vaccine forecast shows Washington receiving 280,000 doses next week, and 310,000 the week after. According to Roberts, the approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could only bolster those numbers even further.

Unlike the current Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which are both 95 percent effective at protecting against symptomatic COVID-19, the J&J shot is only about 66 percent effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 illnesses, and 85 percent effective against serious illnesses. However, the J&J vaccine also only requires one dose. Unlike the previous vaccines, which require two shots taken weeks apart to confer full immunity, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine provides immunity in an instant.

In theory, this means the J&J vaccine could significantly speed up the state's vaccine rollout — good news because the state has to make up for significant losses during last week's rollout.

"It's important to remember this is something we've never done before in our lifetimes," said Roberts. "We're trying to vaccinate the entire population in six to seven months."

State vaccination programs were hit by a double-whammy last week, which has the DOH scrambling to recover.

The first was an issue of vaccine allocation: to make up for second-dose shortfalls the DOH reallocated most of the week's supply to patients receiving their second dose of the vaccine. The move left providers with "extremely limited" vaccines for new patients.

Then came the winter storm, which delayed 90% of the state's vaccine deliveries. Combined, the setbacks canceled or delayed hundreds, if not thousands, of vaccination appointments. The good news, the DOH says, is that efforts are already bouncing back.

"The nationwide winter storm delays made it tough last week. Many providers had to cancel or reschedule appointments," said Roberts. "The good news, as of this morning almost all orders for the past two weeks have shipped, and this week we're making up for lost time."

The DOH also says it is working to address any lingering issues with the vaccine reallocation.

"We are now reviewing where we may have gaps in allocation or distribution in order to address them, including in several counties impacted by second dose reallocations in recent weeks," Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah said.