PROVIDENCE – The R.I. COVID-19 Vaccine Subcommittee approved the immediate use of the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine Wednesday morning, days after the federal government found it is safe and effective for use against the disease.
Rhode Island expects to get about 9,100 doses in its first shipment, but can only then re-order after three weeks, and the next allotment is expected to be smaller, according to the R.I. Department of Health.
Newly sworn-in Gov. Daniel J. McKee attended the subcommittee meeting, restating his priority to have teachers vaccinated as soon as possible. He referenced President Joe Biden, who on Tuesday afternoon announced he wanted states to make teachers a priority and get them their first shots, at least, by the end of March.
McKee said of the vaccine deployment in Rhode Island: “There are priorities that I do have, especially in terms of school teachers. You all heard that President Biden yesterday stated clearly we need to get our teachers vaccinated by the end of the month.” He said he would meet with Tom McCarthy, the R.I. Department of Health’s executive director for COVID-19 response, later Wednesday, to start setting that up.
“We want to put something in place that can can start addressing that,” McKee said.
Building capacity for more vaccination in Rhode Island is also important, he said, in advance of their increased arrival.
“By the end of May, the amount of supply is going to be significant,” McKee said.
CVS Health Corp. pharmacies in Rhode Island, he noted, have now opened eligibility to teachers, quickly following the Biden announcement. “We need to make sure that is a top priority right now. It is a top priority of mine too, to get people back in the classroom,” McKee said.
A graphic displayed during the meeting, on the Zoom platform, showed that Rhode Island is now administering 8,339 daily doses of vaccines, on a rolling seven-day average. That’s an increase of 210% compared to the initial deployment, according to R.I. Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott.
Newly updated demographic information shows that 80% of the vaccine recipients have been white, and disproportionately higher than black and Latino recipients. The state needs to continue to work on that, Alexander-Scott said.
In addition, data by zip code shows that first doses of the vaccines are being taken disproportionately by people living in communities that have had fewer hospitalizations. Ideally, in terms of equity, the vaccine deployment in hard-hit communities would match the hospitalization impact seen there, Alexander-Scott said. “This unfortunately does not reflect that,” she said, referring to the data.
Rhode Island’s supply of vaccine received to-date have all been from the two-dose products manufactured by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc.
The state will receive ongoing allocations of the one-shot vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson, but the federal government also will directly supply some retail pharmacies through a federal program, according to the R.I. Department of Health.
Johnson & Johnson this week announced it would partner with pharmaceutical giant Merck to help amp up production. But initially, supplies into the state will be less than what Rhode Island is already receiving from Moderna and Pfizer.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
