PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island could receive a small batch of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc. next week after the company receives emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, according to Dr. Ashish K. Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health.
“We are in the darkest days of the pandemic,” said Jha to Rhode Island lawmakers at the first virtual meeting for the House COVID-19 vaccine task force held Wednesday afternoon.
However, the public health expert said the country was in a “good place” when it came to the two potential vaccines that are currently seeking emergency authorization. Both Pfizer and Moderna Inc. have reported their vaccines are more than 90% effective.
Pfizer is expected to receive emergency authorization approval from the federal government, after which, Jha said, Rhode Island will receive a small batch the following day on Dec. 11, which will need to be stored in “frozen” conditions. Similar circumstances will occur, he said, when Moderna receives approval, expected on Dec. 17, but that vaccine may be slightly easier to store.
“Both of [the vaccines] pose as logistical challenges,” said Jha, who added he hopes at least 70% to 80% of the population of Rhode Island will eventually be vaccinated. Less than that, he said, will create some challenges.
The bipartisan task force, which was announced Nov. 24 by Speaker-nominee K. Joseph Shekarchi, D-Warwick, was designed to ensure that the state’s distribution of the vaccine is done in a timely manner, following guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention so that front-line workers, the health-compromised and elderly are given access first.
“We are probably more prepared for it than any other state in the nation,” said Dr. Michael Fine, the chief health strategist for the city of Central Falls, who cited the state’s track record of high immunization rates and low vaccine refusals.
Fine also served as the director of the R.I. Department of Health from 2011 to 2015.
He said Rhode Island will likely receive no more than 60,000 vaccine doses in January, and even less in December.
“The total number of doses might not be what we hoped,” said Fine. “One of the challenges that I fear is the first two vaccines are said to have small side effects for 40% of the people that get them.”
Some of the side effects are similar to those when receiving a flu shot but are more intense, he said.
Fine recommended that after being vaccinated, Rhode Islanders should take the next two days off of work. He said health care workers should be vaccinated in a phased approach so that many aren’t out of work at the same time.
Because of the adverse reactions, Fine said there could be a pause in FDA approval.
Some lawmakers expressed concern, saying there is little information on the safety of these vaccines, specifically in elderly adults who have been affected the most by the virus.
“We’re trying to get it out to people without understanding it,” said Rep. Michael W. Chippendale, R-Coventry, who thought the system was “backwards.”
Task force Chairman Rep. Raymond A. Hull, D-Providence, said later in the meeting, “We know a little bit more, but we don’t know the whole picture.”
WHO WILL BE VACCINATED FIRST?
The task force’s meeting comes as Dr. Timothy J. Babineau, CEO and president of Lifespan Corp., told CNBC in a Wednesday morning interview that he is ready to begin vaccinating health care workers “within hours” of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
On Tuesday night, the federal Advisor Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13 to 1 to prioritize an estimated 21 million health care workers and 3 million residents and staff members of long-term care facilities to receive the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine.
“We need [health care workers] on the frontlines. They are essential and many of them have gotten sick,” said Jha. “This is a very good group to go after first.”
Fine said one of the issues in eventual distribution is that there is “no list” of Rhode Islanders who need to be vaccinated or who would still need to be vaccinated when distribution began. He said this will be one of the most challenging hurdles when the state begins to vaccine densely populated communities and communities of color, both of which have high community spread in Rhode Island.
TASK FORCE TO WORK ALONGSIDE HEALTH DEPARTMENT
This newly announced task force is similar to the 16-member subcommittee of the state’s established Vaccine Advisory Committee within the R.I. Department of Health that the governor announced in early October. The members of the subcommittee are made up of doctors, pharmacists and epidemiologists, among other public health and community leaders.
When asked if the health department was aware of Shekarchi’s plan to implement a task force, spokesman Joseph Wendelken said, “Yes, we were aware. We will be working together. We look forward to their partnership.”
When asked if this new task force was to help keep the health department’s subcommittee accountable, House Leadership spokesman Larry Berman said it will be part of the members’ role, especially when distributing the vaccine to Rhode Island’s most vulnerable.
The task force is planning to meet virtually twice more this month, and then into the new year.
On Dec. 9, the task force will discuss vaccine distribution with executives from Pfizer, which has applied to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency approval of its COVID-19 vaccine, and CVS Health Corp., headquartered in Woonsocket. CVS is expected to help distribute an eventual vaccine.
On Dec. 16, the task force plans to meet virtually with representatives from the R.I. Department of Health.
Alexa Gagosz is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Gagosz@PBN.com. You may also follow her on Twitter at @AlexaGagosz.
