Tuesday Brings 1st Coronavirus Vaccinations In Washington

SEATTLE — The first doses of a newly-approved coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer began arriving in Washington Monday, with more than 62,000 expected to be delivered this week.

The State Department of Health invited journalists to the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, and several reporters shared images of the first delivery as it happened Monday morning.

Hours later, UW Medicine announced it would administer the first vaccinations on a group of frontline health care workers — including nurses, doctors and respiratory-care therapists — Tuesday morning, between 11 a.m. and noon. The hospital system said it received an estimated 3,900 doses of the vaccine in the first shipment.

The vaccine's arrival comes after a series of final approvals in recent days, beginning with an emergency use authorization issued Friday by the Food and Drug Administration. Soon after, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices formally recommended the vaccine for people aged 16 and older, followed by a unanimous green light from the Scientific Safety Review Workgroup in Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado and California.

"This vaccine is a sign of hope that the pandemic is something we can overcome," said John Wiesman, the state secretary of health. "We still have a long way to go to beat COVID-19, but this is the tool that will start saving lives immediately."

State health officials expect 222,000 Pfizer vaccines by the end of December and could receive an additional 183,800 doses of a vaccine developed by Moderna, pending final approvals, in the same timeframe. Both vaccines require two doses, spaced about three weeks apart. In clinical trials, the Pfizer vaccine was shown to be 95 percent effective within a week of the patient receiving the second dose.

According to the state, the earliest shipments will be distributed across 17 facilities in 13 counties. The first group eligible to immunized, called Phase 1a, includes frontline health care workers, high-risk first responders, and patients and staff of long-term care facilities. The DOH estimates approximately 500,000 Washingtonians land in the first priority group.

What populations will be eligible in the next phases will partially depend on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is still in progress. The state's interim plan is available online.

While the state is hopeful to have Phase 1a completed by mid-January, getting the wider population immunized is likely to take several months, and health experts say public health precautions will remain necessary well into 2021.

"We believe that if everything goes according to plan, we'll have most people in Washington vaccinated by mid-summer," said Michele Roberts, the state's lead vaccine planner. "The rapid development of these vaccines, with such a high rate of efficacy is a historic achievement and will help us defeat COVID-19."

Read more about who qualifies for Phase 1a on the state Department of Health website.