If a federal advisory committee on Covid-19 vaccines tells Vermont it can resume Johnson & Johnson vaccinations, the state could resume giving them out as early as Tuesday, officials said at a press conference Friday.
The federal government told states to halt the distribution of Johnson & Johnson vaccines after reports of a rare blood clot complication that could develop a week after the one-dose shot. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisers are meeting Friday to discuss the reports, but it’s unknown at this point whether they will issue new recommendations for using the vaccine.
Gov. Phil Scott, however, said he hopes the committee will move quickly to approve the vaccine’s use.
“If all goes well, if the feds give it the green light, we’ll be ready to start using J&J again next week, which will be helpful in a lot of ways,” he said.
He mentioned that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could help the state to expand its options in the Northeast Kingdom.
Health Commissioner Mark Levine said it could also offer more opportunities to vaccinate college students. The state recently expanded eligibility to out-of-state college students and part-time Vermonters.
Scott said officials still believe that even without the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Vermont will still be able to meet its vaccination goal of 60% of the population receiving at least one dose by May 1
At this point, more than half the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
State prepares summer programs
More than 400 summer program opportunities for Vermont’s children are available on the state’s website, many of them free or low-cost, Scott said.
Staffing for summer programs has proven difficult, he said, and he encouraged high school and college students to look for job openings on the website.
Education Secretary Dan French said the state will cancel surveillance testing for K-12 staff in the near future, citing the vaccination program for staff. The state is instead forming a pilot program for testing children in summer programs.
