WA plans who will get single-dose vaccine

The FDA is expected to grant emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday.

The first shipment of the single-dose vaccine should arrive in Washington next week. The Washington Department of Health said the state has been allocated 60,900 doses.

Because it requires only one dose, there is no need for patients to schedule a return visit or complete extra paperwork. It also means that more than 60,000 people will be inoculated instead of 30,000.

It can be stored at refrigerated temperatures up to three months. Now the state is deciding how it will be used, and is looking to the federal government for guidance.

“We have done a lot of thinking, what is the best use of a single-dose vaccine,” said Dr. Scott Lindquist of the state health department.

He said it could be helpful vaccinating workers on the move who work in the maritime and fishing industries.

“This is the ideal vaccine for them, because you can get them before they go out to sea for months at a time. Trying to get them a second dose is a real logistical challenge,” explained Lindquist. He says they’re in a  congregate setting at sea, and could have a lot of racial inequities in that workforce.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine could also be helpful for agricultural workers.

“So as we get seasonal workers coming in to Washington state that are doing critical infrastructure work for our food supply, that is yet another population,” said Lindquist.

Cassie Sauer, president of the Washington State Hospital Association, says hospitals are less likely to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, because they have the ultra-cold storage required for Pfizer and Moderna. They also have the clinical recordkeeping to get people back for a second dose. She expects the single-dose vaccine to be used in housing developments and food banks, where they don’t have the ultra-cold storage.

If the FDA grants Johnson & Johnson emergency use authorization on Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will review the findings. It will also undergo an independent review by the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup. The state has made it clear the independent review will not delay shipment of the vaccine, they may both happen simultaneously.

Cox Media Group