Johnson & Johnson vaccine reaches North Idaho
Panhandle Health District received its first shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Thursday. The arrival marks the third vaccine authorized for emergency use in the battle against COVID-19.
“We’re very excited about the Johnson & Johnson [vaccine],” health district public information officer Katherine Hoyer said. “This will definitely help our community effort to get vaccinated.”
The vaccine represents both a new tool to administer vaccines and a departure from the procedures tied to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Unlike Pfizer and Moderna, which require two doses three to four weeks apart, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose.
Furthermore, unlike its predecessors, the Johnson & Johnson vaccines do not require ultra-cold storage, a logistical challenge that plagued early vaccine rollout in December.
“This vaccine is certainly going to be easier to handle,” Hoyer said. “It will definitely make it easier for our providers to manage.”
Thursday’s shipment of 2,400 Johnson & Johnson doses will be distributed alongside the 6,400 combined Phizer and Moderna doses next week. While many will go to providers such as Kootenai Health, Northwest Specialty Hospital and other clinics across the five northernmost counties, the district will keep about 1,200 doses for its Kootenai County clinics, 100 each for its Shoshone and Benewah County clinics, and 50 for its Boundary County clinic. Hoyer said the district hopes to have its Bonner County clinic open by the end of March.
The delivery comes as the district is gaining ground in its vaccination efforts. Citing a noteworthy slowdown by seniors in online reservations, the local health district announced Wednesday evening it was moving forward with Phase 2.3 in the statewide vaccination plan.
“This wasn’t a decision we made alone,” Hoyer told the Coeur d’Alene Press. “We spoke with our enrolled providers around the district, and we were hearing similar stories. We’ve been seeing and hearing that there are just a lot more openings for vaccinations right now.”
As of Wednesday, roughly 24,000 of the five northernmost counties’ approximately 51,000 seniors had received at least one dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. But the slowdown — compounded by a rash of no-shows and cancellations — has led to the health district continuing to the next phase.
Seniors, of course, will still be able to get vaccinated, as will frontline health care workers, long-term care residents and staff, first responders, pharmacy and dental office staff, school faculty and staff, and correctional facility staff.
But now, more than 10 days ahead of schedule, the district is opening up to Phase 2.3, which includes the veterinary community, homeless shelter residents, grocery store and convenience store employees, public utility workers, and food and agriculture processing workers.
“The vaccinations are going really great,” Hoyer said. “I think we’ve found a really good rhythm."
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine brings with it mixed results. Pfizer’s and Moderna’s efficacy rates against moderate-to-severe symptoms brought on by the coronavirus hover in the mid-90s, meaning a person who received the virus in clinical trials was 90 percent less likely to develop those symptoms. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, however, comes with a 66 percent efficacy rate worldwide against moderate symptoms and a 72 percent efficacy rate nationwide.
But when weighed against the disease’s most severe symptoms — which include chest pain and trouble breathing — Johnson & Johnson’s efficacy rate jumps to 86 percent, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The most compelling data the FDA released, however, focuses on hospitalization and death rates, where none of the participants involved in the studies were hospitalized or died.
