Khaldun
population, by the end of 2021. The state is expecting to receive ongoing weekly allocations of vaccine moving forward.
Per Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, the initial doses of vaccine are being administered to frontline healthcare workers who are at the greatest risk of exposure to COVID-19. These are people within Phase 1A prioritization that includes: paid and unpaid health care workers who have direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials who are unable to work from home and residents of long-term care facilities.
On Thursday, the Oakland and Wayne county health departments received their first shipments of 1,950 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Both counties plan to begin vaccinations today, Oakland County in Waterford and Wayne County in Detroit, for emergency medical service (EMS) personnel.
Michigan will be receiving around 84,825 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 173,600 initial doses of the Moderna vaccine on a weekly basis. These amounts are expected to change, dependent on manufacturing capacity and overall supply. MDHHS officials have confirmed a 29% decline in the state’s Pfizer vaccine shipment for next week.
“We were not provided with a reason (for that decline),” said Lynn Sutfin, MDHHS spokesperson.
On Thursday, the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted to recommend Emergency Use Authorization ( EUA) of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for individuals 18 years and older. This vaccine will be easier to transport and store than the Pfizer vaccine because it does not require as cold of temperatures.
The FDA is expected to grant the Moderna vaccine EUA within days. The initial 6 million Moderna vaccines will be shipped to many of the same facilities including primary hospitals and local health departments in addition to long-term care facilities and rural hospitals.
General Gustave Perna, chief operating officer of the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed, said distributions of the vaccine will occur through next Thursday, with no shipments on Christmas Day, except for emergencies.
In addition, pharmacies began reporting that some vials of the Pfizer vaccine contained 6-7 doses, not 5 as initially reported. The FDA said late Wednesday that those extra doses could be used. Using every drop from overfilled vials could boost available doses by up to 40 percent.
Beth Montalvo, Beaumont Health spokesperson, said staff have noticed six doses in most of their Pfizer vaccine vials, calling it a “bonus.”
Sutfin said MDHHS is consulting with hospitals about their experience with the consistency of extra content in the vials, noting it’s important that second doses also be available when needed.
“We will not waste vaccine, but we want to appropriately allocate the existing supply so that everyone with a first dose can get a second dose on time,” she said.
Perna said states will be informed weekly, on Tuesday night, of their next week vaccine allocation amount, giving each several more days of vaccine distribution planning. The states will be able to place orders from that allocation. Shipments will be sent early in the week.
According to federal officials, 19 pharmacy chains have signed on to participate in the CDC’s Pharmacy Partnership for LongTerm Care Program. Pharmacies will receive vaccine shipments and then administer to staff and residents in long-term care facilities as part of the Phase 1A vaccinations.
Perna said Ohio and Connecticut are expected to begin administering in longterm care facilities this weekend with Florida and West Virginia having already started.
The federal government has contracted for delivery 900 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine through next summer. The U. S. is expecting surplus vaccine supply, which will be used to support other countries. This includes: 100 million doses of Pfizer; 200 million doses of Moderna; 300 million doses of AstraZenica; 100 million doses of Johnson and Johnson (single dose); 100 million doses of Novavax; and 100 million doses of Sanofi/GSK.