QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday that Massachusetts will be receiving more than 100,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine next week.
The state learned from the federal government Tuesday that “the first really significant shipment of the one-dose J&J vaccine will be going out nationwide,” Baker said during a press conference at Father Bill’s and MainSpring in Quincy.
He explained that the Biden Administration will be shipping 10 million doses of the vaccine across the country, with five million of those doses going through the Retail Pharmacy Program and the other five million going to states.
“That’s a big deal,” Baker said after the announcement was met with cheers from those in attendance at the presser.
Out of the doses being shipped, more than 100,000 are expected to go to the Bay State.
Baker says this is huge for Mass. because the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose, while the other federally approved vaccines require two doses.
“Thank God Pfizer and Moderna were there when they were there, but the difference between two doses and one dose is not just convenience, it’s also capacity,” he said. “If you think about all the people who you can serve with one dose and not have to schedule a second dose and take up a second seat at some point later on, it basically doubles the amount of capacity that’s available, and in addition to that, the speed at which somebody becomes fully vaccinated.”
Pfizer on Wednesday also announced that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12, a step toward possibly beginning shots in this age group before they head back to school in the fall.
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