March 03, 2021

Manchin: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Allocation Great News For West Virginia

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) applauded the recent weekly allocation of 15,500 Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses and a new weekly Pfizer increase of 1,170 doses for the week of March 8th, for West Virginia. This is the sixth consecutive increase in the weekly vaccine allocation.

“The FDA’s recent emergency approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will help West Virginia continue to quickly administer vaccine doses to as many West Virginians as possible. This new weekly dose allocation and the sixth consecutive dose increase are great news for the Mountain State,” said Senator Manchin. “As West Virginia continues to lead the nation and the world in safe, effective vaccine distribution and administration, the steady increase in vaccine doses is vital to providing vaccines for every West Virginian who wants one. I will continue working with the Biden Administration to ensure West Virginia quickly receives vaccine doses as the supply increases.”

Over the weekend, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine to prevent COVID-19. This is the first single-shot vaccine to combat COVID-19, and data has demonstrated it will protect against COVID-19 related hospitalization and deaths, particularly across emerging variants. You can learn more about the vaccine online here.

A timeline of Senator Manchin’s recent efforts on increasing vaccine distribution below:

  • January 21, 2021 – Senator Manchin spoke with General Gus Perna, Chief Operating Officer of Operation Warp Speed on COVID-19 vaccine procurement and distribution about the need for additional vaccines in West Virginia. He received assurances that the Biden Administration is ramping up manufacturing and expects to see an increase in distribution to every state in early February. 
  • January 24, 2021 – Senator Manchin spoke with members of the National Economic Council and stressed that the number one priority must be quickly producing and efficiently distributing the vaccine throughout the country.
  • February 16, 2021 – Senator Manchin received notification that two West Virginia health center systems would soon be receiving direct COVID-19 vaccine dose shipments and that West Virginia would receive another weekly Pfizer vaccine dose increase.