Governor Ned Lamont said he expects Connecticut will receive 30,000 Johnson & Johnson one-dose COVID-19 vaccines by Tuesday, March 2.
The announcement comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the emergency use of the vaccine on Saturday.
The Johnson & Johnson shot is now the third with emergency authorization to combat COVID-19 in the U.S.
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The 30,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be in addition to the typical Pfizer and Moderna vaccine doses given to the state for use. That would up the state’s total vaccine allocation per week to 130,000.
The governor notes that the authorization of the J&J shot roughly a year after the start of the pandemic "is not only remarkable progress but another tool to help us rapidly defeat the coronavirus."
Hospitals across the state are ready to start administering yet another COVID-19 vaccine.
“I’m very enthusiastic about this Janssen Johnson & Johnson vaccine. I think it’s got a lot of advantages, and it’s really going to increase our ability to vaccinate as many people here in Connecticut as quickly as possible,” said UConn Health Infectious Disease Physician and Hospital Epidemiologist Dr. David Banach.
Banach says they’ve got the systems in place to be able to administer a lot of vaccines, but what’s held them and everyone else back is supply. He says the faster vaccination happens, the better, especially when it comes to reducing the spread and impact of variants.
“It puts us in a race. Basically, we’ve got to get as many vaccines into people’s arms as quickly as we can before these variants really start to become a bigger issue,” said Banach.
State leaders are warning against people “shopping” for a specific vaccine.
“Don’t get fussy with what brand you got. They are all incredibly effective, much more effective than we had anticipated. I think that’s important, no brand shopping,” Lamont said at a virtual meeting on Wednesday.
Health experts say once you become eligible to get one, take advantage of it and get the vaccine that’s available to you.
“I think the key message is when it comes to preventing hospitalizations and severe illness, all the vaccines performed very well,” said Banach.
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