[ad_1]
For the first time, some Oregonians will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine at their local Walmart or Bi-Mart.
It’s an early example of how the arrival of a third vaccine, made by Johnson & Johnson, could reshape the vaccination effort of all Oregonians. The new medicine only requires one injection and can be stored in a normal refrigerator.
The state used about half of its first allocation of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 15,400 doses out of 34,000 in total, to add the two new partners to the list of pharmacies that receive direct shipments of the vaccine, along with Safeway-Albertsons, Costco , and Walgreens.
Oregon Health Authority director Patrick Allen said Walmart needed time to set up its vaccination schedule, but vaccines could be available from this weekend.
Rural county health officials welcomed the news and said it would improve vaccine access for the poorest residents who lack the time and resources to travel to a mass vaccination site or clinic. ephemeral.
“The Walmarts are often located in areas of great poverty, so we are delighted to hear that they will increase access to counties without richer partnerships,” said Sarah Poe, director of the Malheur County Department of Health. .
The state expects a two-week delay before the next Johnson & Johnson vaccine allocation, due to production delays.
Amity and EMT volunteer firefighter Nic Sherman gives Sam Farmer, a resident of the Friendsview retirement community, a COVID-19 vaccine, as Dorothy Farmer watches, in Newberg, Oregon, on February 5, 2021. As of this week, three COVID-19 vaccines are available in Oregon.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Oregon officials are still developing a strategy on how to deploy the new vaccine, and state leaders say they will ultimately allow decisions to be made about the populations who receive it locally. .
The OHSU mass vaccination site at Portland International Airport received 5,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson version this week, the second largest allocation.
The rest of the shipment traveled statewide, with each local or county public health department receiving at least 100 doses. The counties told the OPB that they plan to use their allowances to reach the elderly at home and those in prison.
Four counties – Clackamas, Multnomah, Douglas and Baker – received additional doses, according to the Oregon Health Authority, intended to help them immunize residents of adult foster homes.
In global clinical trials, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been shown to be very effective in preventing hospitalization and death. But some health officials, including those in Oregon, fear that members of the public may view the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as less effective or less desirable.
“We want to be careful not to create a perception of, we’re giving the worst vaccine to people who are vulnerable and marginalized,” Allen said.
The fear perception problem stems from the challenges of how to interpret nuanced clinical trial results.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine reduced a participant’s risk of contracting COVID-19 by 66% and the risk of serious illness by 85%. The Pfizer vaccine was 95% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, while the Moderna vaccine was 91.4% effective.
But scientists say understanding the protection each vaccine offers against COVID-19 is much more complicated than comparing the percent effectiveness of each trial.
“It is really too early to distinguish between the three vaccines, except to know that all three protect against serious illness, hospitalization and death,” said Mark Slifka, professor and vaccine expert at OHSU. . “The one you can get is the one you should choose.”
Slifka said there are several factors that make it difficult to make a side-by-side comparison. Each trial took place at a different time, using a different population, against different versions of COVID-19.
For example, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been tested worldwide, during a period of high transmission of COVID-19, and these tests have included participants in Brazil and South Africa who have been exposed to more contagious variants. virus.
Also, we don’t know how long the protection against any of the three vaccines will last, or if one might provide longer lasting protection than the others.
Slifka wonders if the public has ever developed an anti-shooting bias. In trials, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine caused fewer side effects, and as a single dose, it has obvious appeal.
“People who don’t like needles might prefer this one,” he said.
[ad_2]
Source link