The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) on Sunday formally accepted the recommendation of its advisory panel that Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine be given to people 18 years and older in the United States.
The announcement by CDC director Rochelle WalenskyRochelle WalenskyOvernight Health Care: FDA Panel Endorses Vaccine Johnson & Johnson | CDC Director warns that deterioration in cases ‘may come to a halt’ | Biden administration buys 100,000 doses of Lilly antibody products FDA panel endorses Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine CDC director warns that deterioration in COVID-19 effects could be ‘more’ in ‘over’ move ‘ will allow vaccinations to begin as soon as the doses are received.
Walensky calls the decision “another milestone to end the pandemic.”
“This vaccine is also another important tool in our toolbox to vaccinate as many people as possible,” Walensky said in a statement.
A senior administration official told reporters on Sunday night that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) would immediately send 3.9 million doses, and the vaccine distribution centers would receive them as early as Tuesday.
Experts said the vaccine could be targeted at places such as rural communities, health centers and individual medical offices because of the relatively easy storage requirements.
However, senior officials said that the goal is fair distribution, and that doses will be allocated to states according to population, just as the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are.
Most communities will have doses of all three vaccines, but not every vaccination site is due to limited availability. Officials stressed that people should take the vaccine available.
An administration official said the doses of 3.9 million are Johnson & Johnson’s entire inventory. There will be no additional deliveries next week, and the official said governors are aware that the distribution through the early and mid-March will be ‘uneven’.
A total of 20 million doses of J&J vaccine will be sent in March, but it will be more concentrated by the end of the month. The US has paid 100 million doses, which the company has promised will be delivered by June.
The US has paid more than $ 1 billion to help with the manufacture and delivery of J & J’s vaccine. Nearly a year ago, the company also won $ 465 million in federal funding for vaccine research and development, bringing its U.S. funding total to the project to nearly $ 1.5 billion.
The country’s third coronavirus vaccine comes days after the United States surpassed 500,000 COVID-19 deaths.
While deaths in nursing homes have declined sharply, as have overall cases and deaths, the CDC warns that the decline in new cases has come to a halt amid an increase in more contagious variants of the virus.
At the same time, governors across the country are lifting coronavirus restrictions, including mask mandates and capacity restrictions, despite warning signs of a new increase in virus mutations.
“This third safe, effective vaccine COVID-19 is coming at an important time,” Walensky said in the statement.
“CDC’s latest data suggest that recent declines in COVID-19 cases may decrease and possibly still decrease with very high numbers, which is why it is so important that we be vigilant and take all the mitigations consistently. steps we know work to stop the spread of COVID-19 while we are moving towards mass vaccination, “Walensky said.
Updated at 6:22 PM