Officials unsure when next COVID shots will arrive

A tornado heavily damaged a large Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina, July 19.

An air of uncertainty surrounds the arrival of the next round of COVID vaccines to Tahlequah, after the Pfizer factory in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, damaged in a tornado on July 19.

In a statement after the tornado, Pfizer said the facility’s drug manufacturing facilities were not damaged. The primary damage happened in the warehouse areas where raw materials, packaging supplies and finished medicines waiting to receive quality assurance are stored, according to Pfizer.

The factory makes medicines for facilities across the U.S. Exactly which medicines were impacted by the damage to the facility is unavailable, according to an NPR report on the tornado.

The new COVID vaccines are expected to be available in September or October, according to the Oklahoma Department of Health. Specifics on the timing will be shared with the public once more details are received.

At press time, Shanon Gower of Tahlequah Drug Co., was not certain when their supply of Moderna vaccines would be received.

“Walgreens will provide the new Center for Disease Control, recommended COVID-19 vaccine once available later this fall, which could be as soon as September,” said Madeline Hughes, senior associate for health media. “Walgreens will continue to follow guidance from the FDA and the CDC around the administration of COVID-19 vaccines this fall, and we will share updates as we receive them.”

An OSHD official recommends talking to a doctor first.

”An individual should work with their trusted health care provider to determine if they are eligible for a booster dose of the Bivalent COVID vaccine,” said Daniel Ortiz, regional epidemiologist for the OSHD.

As reported in a press release from the Federal Drug Administration, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee met on June 15 to make recommendations for the updated COVID-19 vaccines for use beginning in the fall 2023.

The committee voted that the vaccine composition be updated to a monovalent COVID-19 vaccine with a XBB-lineage of the Omicron variant.

Manufacturers were informed to develop vaccines based on the composition voted on by the committee.

Routine annual influenza vaccination is recommended for all people – ages 6 months and older – who do not have other health reasons that preclude them from being vaccinated, according to the CDC.

“For most persons who need only one dose of influenza vaccine for the season, vaccination should ideally be offered during September or October,” according to the CDC. “However, vaccination should continue through the season as long as influenza viruses are circulating.”

Most doctors and pharmacists in the area recommend not taking the flu vaccination until mid- to late September. If the virus arrives much later, its efficacy will not be as good.

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