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On Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially accepted its advisory committee’s recommendation that Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine can be given to people aged 18 and over in the United States.
The announcement of the director of the CDC Rochelle WalenskyRochelle WalenskyOvernight Health Care: FDA Panel Approves Johnson & Johnson Vaccine | CDC Director Warns of Decline in ‘Possibly Stalled’ Cases | Biden administration buys 100,000 doses of Lilly antibody FDA panel approves Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine CDC director warns decline in COVID-19 cases’ could stagnate ‘in’ a worrying shift ” MORE will allow vaccinations to begin as soon as the doses are received.
Walensky called the decision “another step towards ending the pandemic”.
“This vaccine is also another important tool in our toolkit to equitably vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible,” Walensky said in a statement.
A senior administration official told reporters on Sunday evening that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) would immediately ship 3.9 million doses and vaccine distribution centers would begin receiving them as early as Tuesday.
Experts said the vaccine could be targeted at places such as rural communities, health centers and individual doctors’ offices because of its relatively easy storage needs.
However, senior administration officials said the goal was fair distribution and that doses would be allocated to states by population, just like vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
Most communities will receive doses of all three vaccines, but not all vaccination sites due to their limited availability. Officials stressed that people should take any vaccine available.
An administration official said the 3.9 million doses made up Johnson & Johnson’s entire inventory. There will be no additional deliveries next week, and the official said governors are aware that the distribution in early and mid-March will be “uneven”.
A total of 20 million doses of J&J vaccine will be sent in March, but they will be more concentrated towards the end of the month. The United States has paid for 100 million doses, which the company has committed to deliver by June.
The United States paid more than $ 1 billion to help manufacture and deliver J & J’s vaccine. Nearly a year ago, the company also won $ 465 million in federal funding for vaccine research and development, bringing its total U.S. funding for the project to nearly $ 1.5 billion. .
The country’s third coronavirus vaccine comes days after the United States passed 500,000 deaths from COVID-19.
As nursing home deaths have fallen sharply, as have cases and deaths overall, the CDC warns that the drop in new cases has halted amid an increase in more contagious variants of the drug. virus.
At the same time, governors across the country are lifting coronavirus restrictions, including mask warrants and capacity limits, despite warning signs of a new spike due to mutations in the virus.
“This safe and effective third COVID-19 vaccine comes at a potentially pivotal time,” Walensky said in the statement.
“The latest CDC data suggests that recent declines in COVID-19 cases could stagnate and potentially stabilize at still very high numbers. This is why it is so critical that we remain vigilant and consistently take all measures. mitigation. the steps we know are working to stop the spread of COVID-19 while we are working on mass vaccination, ”Walensky said.
Updated at 6:22 p.m.
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