With J&J vaccine paused, officials resume getting doses to the underserved
Less than a week after reports of blood clots prompted a nationwide pause in the distribution of Johnson & Johnson vaccines, state officials jump-started stalled efforts to inoculate those who are hard to reach.
Over the weekend, two coronavirus vaccination clinics were held for farmworkers at the aptly named J&J Family of Farms in Loxahatchee.
Further, vaccination clinics, paired with grocery giveaways, resumed at sites operated by Feeding South Florida, such as one Monday at the Palm Beach Outlets mall.
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The state also announced that on Tuesday vaccinations will resume at federal sites, including one in Miami-Dade County, where as many as 3,000 shots can be administered daily.
With the one-shot J&J vaccine temporarily shelved, state officials had to halt clinics for underserved groups to figure out the more complicated logistics of making sure people return for their second shot of the vaccine.
Racing to get farmworkers vaccinated before they head north
The calculus was particularly fraught for farmworkers. Preparing to follow crops north in several weeks, officials had to make sure the workers were going to be in Palm Beach County in three weeks to receive their second dose.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay, who worried that workers would leave the state without being vaccinated, said the roughly 300 workers who turned up at J&J Farms to get vaccinated aren’t planning to leave until mid-May.
“So we had just enough time to schedule both doses,” she said.
Still, McKinlay said, she remains worried. While some large growers, such as U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals, have offered their workers shots, she said many remain unprotected.
“We will not be able to vaccinate all of our farmworkers before they leave,” McKinlay said. “We are sending them at-risk to other states.”
A spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management said the so-called pop-up clinics are “a critical tool” in the state’s vaccination efforts.
“These events assist in reaching underserved communities statewide and increasing vaccine access to all Floridians,” said Samantha Bequer, a spokesperson for the agency that is heading up vaccine distribution.
In addition to being a logistical puzzle, state officials had to determine whether enough vaccines were available since no additional J&J shots will be shipped until federal officials again clear the vaccine for use.
Pfizer and Moderna doses to the rescue
The arrival of more than 420,000 Pfizer and Moderna vaccines allowed the state to reopen the federal mass vaccination sites and pop-up clinics with Pfizer vaccines, Bequer said. Unlike Moderna, Pfizer vaccines can be given to those as young as 16.
The state allotment doesn’t include the tens of thousands of doses that the federal government sends directly to retail pharmacies, such as Publix and CVS, or those the state ships to doctor’s offices and health clinics.
How long the J&J vaccine will remain on hold is unknown.
During a meeting last week, an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control said it wanted more information about why six women, ages 18 to 48, suffered severe and rare brain clots after receiving J&J vaccines. More than 7 million people have received the shots nationwide.
The committee is to meet again Friday to determine what steps should be taken. As was done when blood clots were reported among those who received the similar AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe, many experts expect the federal government will recommend that certain people not receive the J&J vaccine.
The pause comes as new COVID-19 cases are spiking in Florida and in roughly two dozen other states across the nation.
Variant strains fueling uptick in spread of infection
The increase is being fueled by the ever-increasing number of highly contagious variant strains of the virus that are circulating, experts say. Increased travel and growing pandemic fatigue, which is causing people to shed their masks and dispense with social distancing, are also blamed.
A day after Florida led the nation with 6,834 new cases, another 4,237 were reported on Monday. The number of new cases tallied often drops on Mondays after labs are closed for the weekend.
In the past several weeks, the Monday drop has been followed by a steep uptick.
Further, even though a seven-day low of 232 new cases were reported in the county, the daily positivity rate remained high.
The rate, which is a gauge of the prevalence of the disease and risk of infection, stood at 7.5% on Monday. That is significantly higher than the 5% public health officials say is needed before the virus is considered under control.
Statewide, the rate was 7.9%. Over the past two weeks, it has averaged 7.3%.
The number of people hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19 also increased. The additional 178 people being treated statewide brought the total patient count to 3,435, the most since March 6.
The county followed the same trend. The 229 people being treated at county medical centers is the most since March 10.
However, the number of reported deaths remained low. Just 33 were reported across the state Monday, including six in the county.
The 23 deaths recorded in the county during past week is among the lowest since mid-November.
With roughly 80% of county residents 65 and older at least partially vaccinated, experts say they are hopeful deaths will remain low as vaccination rates increase. About 80% of those who succumbed to the disease were in that age group.
However, county officials have said they worry that those under the age of 44 are less interested in getting shots.
On Monday, just 22.6% of the state’s 7.8 million residents between the ages of 16 and 44 had received at least one shot. By comparison, 48% of the 5.6 million between the ages of 45 and 64 were partially protected.
jmusgrave@pbpost.com
COVID BY THE NUMBERS
2,173,138 — People in Florida who have been diagnosed with the disease.
139,199 — People in the county who have tested positive.
31,696,453 — Confirmed cases in the United States.
141,642,813 — People infected worldwide.
35,142 — Deaths in Florida.
2,775 — Fatalities in the county.
567,406 — Deaths in the U.S.
3,023,436 — Global deaths.
5,113,056 — People in Florida fully vaccinated. Another 2,956,696 are awaiting second doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.
376,327 — People in the county who are fully vaccinated. Another 216,590 still need second shots.
20.6% — Percentage of state residents over the age of 18 who are fully vaccinated.
31% — Percentage of county residents over the age of 18 who are fully vaccinated.
33% — Percentage of people in the nation over the age of 18 who are fully vaccinated.