Washington to start receiving Moderna COVID-19 vaccine this week

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Governor Jay Inslee announced on Sunday the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup has authorized the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine after the FDA and CDC granted their initial authorization of the vaccine.

“I’m pleased that the Western States Workgroup gave their unanimous recommendation to the Moderna vaccine today and encourages immediate use of the vaccine in our states,” Inslee said in a news release. “Having two vaccines to combat COVID-19 will help us begin to recover from this destructive pandemic.”

The first of the Moderna vaccine doses are expected to start arriving from the federal government this week. Around 183,800 doses of the Moderna vaccine should arrive by the end of December.

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According to Inslee, the storage and handling of this vaccine is logistically easier and should help get the vaccine to all areas of the state.

The first doses will be administered to high-risk health workers as well as staff and residents of long-term care facilities.

“We believe that if everything goes according to plan, we’ll have most people in Washington vaccinated by mid-summer,” said Michele Roberts, one of the leaders of the DOH COVID-19 vaccine planning group, in a press release. “The rapid development of these vaccines, with such a high rate of efficacy, is a historic achievement, and will help us defeat COVID-19.”