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3.03am GMT

Initial deliveries of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine should start on Tuesday, helping to boost vaccination rates across the country, senior administration officials said on Sunday, Reuters reports.

The officials acknowledged that vaccination rates among minorities were “not where we ultimately want them to be”, but said federal officials were closely monitoring distribution to ensure it was equitable.

They urged everyone in the United States to get a vaccination as soon as it was their turn, and said Black and brown Americans should understand that safeguards had been put in place after past cases of discrimination in the medical field.

2.16am GMT

A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel voted unanimously on Sunday to recommend Johnson & Johnson’s Covid shot for widespread use, and US officials said initial shipments would start on Sunday, Reuters reports.

Providing a final clearance for the vaccine a day after it was authorised by US regulators, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 12-0 to recommend the vaccine from J&J as appropriate for Americans 18 and older. There was one abstention due to prior conflicts of interest.

“We believe today’s recommendation from the CDC to begin use of our vaccine as part of the US national immunization program will add a critical tool in the fight against Covid,” Paul Stoffels, J&J’s chief scientific officer, said in a statement.

“We’re getting these doses out the door as soon as they’re available to ensure vaccines get into arms as quickly as possible,” one senior US official told reporters late on Sunday, adding that initial deliveries were expected by Tuesday.

State and local public health authorities will use Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC guidance as they administer the first 3.9m doses, which will be shipped through distribution partner McKesson Corp.

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Source: The Guardian