Over 1,000 high-risk health care workers in Washington get vaccine
Dec 18, 2020, 2:34 PM | Updated: 4:57 pm
As of late Wednesday night, a total of 1,159 high-risk health care workers in Washington state had received doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Vaccination in Washington kicked off Tuesday morning among the Phase 1A group, which the state identifies as frontline health workers and long-term care residents and staff.
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Operation Warp Speed told the Department of Health on Wednesday that the state’s allocation of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will be reduced to 44,850, rather than the 74,100 doses the department was expecting to receive. The DOH says it was not given an explanation and it doesn’t have allocation numbers beyond next week.
“This reduction does not change our commitment to getting all allocated doses out to health care providers and people in Washington at risk of COVID-19,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman. “Our focus is on the vaccines we are receiving and making sure health care providers and long-term care facilities are ready to give those vaccines. We are thankful we still have doses to allocate, and look forward to understanding our allocations beyond next week.”
That said, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Friday afternoon. An advisory panel recommended Emergency Use Authorization on Thursday. The region’s Scientific Safety Review Workgroup will further vet the vaccine, just as it did with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Washington state expects to see 128,000 Moderna vaccine doses early next week.
Also, the FDA announced on Wednesday that health care providers can draw additional doses from each vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which could greatly expand the the nation’s supply. “There is enough liquid in the vials when it is mixed to draw a sixth dose, or possibly even a seventh dose,” the DOH said in a news release.
On Sunday, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is expected to vote on who will be included in the next vaccine phases: Phases 1B and 1C.
