Iowa to get 100,000 vaccine doses, including new Johnson & Johnson vaccine

State health officials announced Monday that Iowa will receive more than 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine this week, including doses of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine that received emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

Iowa will receive 25,600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the Iowa Department of Public Health said Monday.

The Johnson & Johnson doses, health officials said, will be divided among 17 counties, including Linn, that have 'significant Phase 1B, Tier 2 populations,” according to a news release.

Phase 1B, Tier 2 includes food, agriculture, distribution and manufacturing workers who work or live in congregate settings that don't allow for social distancing, and people with disabilities living in home settings and their caregivers.

'This approach will ensure that local public health can coordinate with employers on the quick administration of COVID-19 vaccine to essential workforce who have been disproportionally affected by the virus,” a news release said.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one shot, and it can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures, making it simpler to store and administer.

Counties that will receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine include Black Hawk, Buena Vista, Cerro Gordo, Clarke, Crawford, Dallas, Dubuque, Louisa, Marion, Marshall, Muscatine, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Sioux, Tama and Wright.

Who gets what?

The decision to send the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to harder-to-reach communities may make practical sense due to the vaccine's simplicity. But some have expressed concern it also could generate perceptions of a two-tiered vaccine system, with marginalized communities getting what they might see as inferior protection from the COVID-19 virus.

The issue was raised on a recent call between governors and Biden administration officials coordinating the country's coronavirus response, the Washington Post reported.

Citing three unidentified people who overheard the conversation, the Washington Post reported that Gov. Charlie Baker, a Massachusetts Republican, stressed the need for prominent health officials to communicate clearly about the benefits of the one-shot vaccine.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine proved safe and effective in a clinical trial, preventing hospitalization and death, including in South Africa against a more transmissible variant.

When moderate cases were included, however, it was 66 percent protective, compared with efficacy of more than 90 percent reported for a vaccine jointly developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech, and one from U.S. biotech company Moderna.

Vaccines

State data shows 710,675 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered in Iowa as of 12:30 p.m. Monday.

The vast majority - or 684,428 - of those shots went to Iowans, the data show.

A total of 349,505 people have received the first of the two-dose regimen, and 180,585 people have received both of the required doses.

In Linn County, 51,720 doses have been administered, the data showed. Just over 8 percent - 14,172 people - of the county's adult population has received both doses.

In Johnson County, 47,135 doses have been administered. Nearly 12 percent - 14,421 people - of the county's adult population now has received both doses.

New cases

Iowa reported 200 new COVID-19 cases and one new confirmed death in 24-hour period that ended at 11 a.m. Monday. That brings the total of cases in the state since the pandemic was confirmed here to 336,511 and the death toll to 5.472.

Of the new cases, 17 were in Linn County, for a total of 19,411. Fourteen were in Johnson County, bringing that total to 13,079.

The state's positivity rate is 4.69 percent.

Included in Monday's additions were 40 cases among people 17 and younger, bringing the total number of youths who have tested positive for COVID-19 to 37,995.

Two new cases were reported among education workers, bringing that total to 7,724.

Deaths

One COVID-19 death was confirmed Monday, according to data from the IDPH.

The death occurred Feb. 25 and was reported as someone over 80 who died in Black Hawk County.

Hospitalizations

The number of people being treated for the infection in Iowa hospitals ticked up slightly in the 24-hour period. Hospitalizations rose from 196 to 197. Conversely, the number of patients in intensive care dipped from 50 to 48, and those on ventilators went from 19 to 15.

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