State health officials are hopeful about the opportunities that could come with a new COVID-19 vaccine. Indiana Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lindsay Weaver says Johnson & Johnson has applied for an emergency use authorization from the FDA.
“The J&J vaccine is a single-dose vaccine,” Weaver explained. “It is easier to bring to people for a one-time vaccine than to coordinate inventory and scheduling for two doses. It also has much less stringent storage requirements and can simply be refrigerated.”
All of those factors will greatly simplify the distribution process, according to State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box. “It doesn’t have to be frozen, and it doesn’t have to be in an ultra-low freezer, which is really important,” Box said. “It doesn’t have to be reconstituted at the site, which is incredibly important because that makes it even more difficult. So all in all, we kind of thought all along this might be the workhorse vaccine, and really good to use for those populations that we know are going to be hard to get back sometimes for the second dose.”
During Wednesday’s press conference, Dr. Weaver said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been shown to be 85-percent effective, and there have been no hospitalizations or deaths in people who got it.
At this point, those getting vaccinated in Indiana are not allowed to choose which vaccine they get. Weaver said health officials will continue to look at CDC recommendations, when deciding who gets what shot.
