MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – About 42,000 Vermonters aged 65 and over can start signing up for coronavirus vaccines on Monday. The result is that Vermont marks 100,000 people who have received at least one shot.
As with other age groups, the first day of registration was predictably eventful. But state leaders are excited about the numbers, as new vaccines are hitting the shelves this week.
In the first two hours, the state made about 15,000 nominations for Vermonters over 65. A relatively smoother implementation than in previous weeks, in part, the leaders said, because people created their accounts in advance.
“I think it would probably make things easier for people to take that step, because once you have your account set up, you can log in and schedule your appointment,” said Kelly Dougherty, the deputy commissioner for the Vermont Department of Health.
In addition, Vermont is picking up a new weapon in the fight against the pandemic – the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine was given the green light over the weekend.
State leaders will release the exact details of the launch on Tuesday, but the pharmaceutical company is working to distribute some 20 million doses nationwide.
The injection has an efficacy rate of 72%, lower than the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
But Dr. Tim Lahey, an infectious disease specialist at UVM’s Larner College of Medicine, said it is still incredibly effective.
“What really matters to us in this pandemic is to prevent people from dying and having to be hospitalized, and this pandemic is very good at that,” said Lahey.
The Johnson & Johnson clinical trial was conducted on three continents, although there were more infectious variants and there were no hospitalizations or deaths in any of the studies.
“The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was studied at a time when the most resistant variants to the vaccines were more common, but they obtained a result that was not so good, but it could have been if Pfizer and Moderna were tested at the same time” . Lahey said.
And with its unique shooting format and not having to be kept at a lower temperature like Moderna and Pfizer, it has other benefits as well.
Providers say the new vaccine has the potential to reach rural parts of the state.
“The ability to push it further into rural areas and have more flexibility in how to store it makes things a little bit simpler and eliminates additional barriers to getting it to Vermonters,” said Jonathan Billings of Northwestern Medical Center.
State leaders will release the exact details of how the new vaccine will be distributed and how much we will get in their regular pandemic news briefing on Tuesday.
Regarding the age group, the health department estimates that we will move to the 18-65 age group with underlying diseases later this month.
For those over 65, you can click here to register online or call 855-722-7878.
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