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The state Department of Health has pre-ordered new bivalent COVID-19 vaccines expected to be available from Pfizer and Moderna as early as September.
The DOH said it pre-ordered its allotment of about 16,500 doses this week and plans to order another 21,400 doses next week.
The Biden administration plans to offer the next generation of COVID-19 boosters shortly after Labor Day, according to The New York Times, ahead of an expected winter surge, making them available to all Americans age 12 and older. .
Both Pfizer and Moderna finalized their emergency use authorization requests for the bivalent vaccines — which have been modified to also target omicron subvariants like BA.5 — to the US Food and Drug Administration.
Pending FDA approval, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory panel has scheduled meetings Thursday and Friday for discussion. Pending a final decision from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, the new bivalent vaccines could be shipped to the states and made available soon.
Appearing Friday on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” live broadcast program, DOH Director Dr. Elizabeth “Libby” Char said that once it’s available, the department will do its best to get the new vaccines out, but that there won’t be enough for everyone at first.
“So I think just like when we had vaccines and booster shots, we’re going to have to figure out how best to vaccinate those who really need it,” she said.
There are still many unknowns, she said, including whether the CDC will place restrictions on the vaccines after FDA approval or leave it up to states to determine how to distribute them.
“We are not planning to do mass vaccination campaigns like we did before because we don’t have any funds for that,” Char said. “We’re looking to roll it out as widely as we can in health care in our community to make sure it’s on every island, that people have access to it and that they have easy access to it close to where they live , close to where they work, so it’s convenient.”
Currently available COVID-19 boosters are based on the original strain of the coronavirus, she said. While they are still highly protective against severe disease and death, they are no longer as protective against infection due to the evolution of the virus, Char said.
Due to mutations in the spike protein, omicron subvariants such as BA.4 and BA.5 have a greater ability to evade antibodies elicited by previous infections as well as vaccinations.
However, the omicron subvariant BA.5 has outcompeted BA.4 and is the predominant type across the globe, including in the US and Hawaii.
BA.5 now accounts for 88.7% of cases nationwide, according to the CDC, while a worrisome new variant, BA.4.6, accounts for 7.5% and BA.4, 3.6%.
The hope, Char said, is that the bivalent vaccine, which includes the original vaccine as well as a new component that targets omicron subvariants like BA.5, will also help prevent infections. She expects the pickup to be quick.
“So this is thought to not only protect against serious illness and hospitalization,” she said, “but also help to minimize infection or re-infection. So it should boost those neutralizing antibodies.”
To date, 77.3% of Hawaii’s population has completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines, with 44.7% receiving one dose and 11.5% receiving two doses.
The first booster is available to all residents aged 5 years and older if at least five months have passed since the completion of the primary series of vaccines against COVID-19. The second booster is available to those age 50 and older at least four months after the first, and to those age 12 and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised.
Char said federally qualified pharmacies and health centers are able to pre-order doses of bivalent vaccines independent of the state.