CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was sent across the county on Monday and the Iowa Department of Public Health already has a plan to dedicate these doses specifically to frontline workers who they work and live in congregated environments where they are incapable of social distance.
In a call with health directors across the state, IDPH said it would dedicate more than 25,000 doses of the vaccine, which was authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration over the weekend, to frontline workers who did not. can distance themselves socially, like meat packers. But critics of the decision said that those with less health equity in Iowa will now receive a possibly less effective dose of vaccine.
Although the Johnson & Johnson version, like the others, avoids hospitalizations and deaths, it has not had such a strong test against moderate disease in the tests. However, the vaccine was tested against variants of COVID-19. Both the Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines have not been tested against variants.
Joe Henry, the political director of the League of United American Citizens in Iowa, said he fears that these workers, who are likely to be people of color, are getting a vaccine that they don’t protect as well.
“When other essential workers are receiving the two other previous vaccines that were available with the highest efficacy rate, then Johnson & Johnson is being given to people of color and those of us in the Latin community,” said Henry. “That would be unfair,”
Herny also called the policy racist because the first respondents and health professionals will still receive the other two versions of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported that it is dedicating doses to this group because the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine allows greater access for this population because it only needs one dose. Sarah Ekstrand, an IDPH spokeswoman, said she also allows them to face other barriers, such as language and transportation.
“Due to less complicated storage logistics and the fact that J&J requires only one dose, this ensures greater access for this population to the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Ekstrand. “In addition, by offering the vaccine to this priority population in their workplaces, we are addressing barriers to language access and transportation, as well as addressing the fact that many of these individuals may not have a primary care provider.”
Ekstrand also said that the department believes that anyone who is eligible to receive a vaccine now, should do so, regardless of the brand. All are highly effective in preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been shown to prevent hospitalization and death 100% of the time in clinical trials and has been 85% effective in preventing serious illnesses caused by the virus. Flu vaccines, for example, generally have an efficacy rate of around 60% year after year, but it is still a critical tool for preventing the spread of these viruses.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN on Sunday that he would get a Johnson & Johnson vaccine. He added that all three are very effective vaccines.
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