The state Department of Health has preordered the new bivalent COVID-19 vaccines that are anticipated to be available from Pfizer and Moderna as early as September.
DOH said it preordered its allocation of some 16,500 doses this week and plans to order 21,400 more doses next week.
The Biden administration plans to offer the next generation of COVID-19 boosters soon 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 are modified to also target omicron subvariants such as BA.5 — to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In anticipation of FDA approval, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory panel has scheduled meetings for Thursday and Friday for discussion. Pending a final decision by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, the new bivalent vaccines could be shipped to states and made available soon.
Appearing Friday on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” livestream program, DOH Director Dr. Elizabeth “Libby” Char said that once available, the department would do its best to get the new vaccines out but that there won’t be enough for everybody at first.
“So I think similar to when we first had booster shots and vaccines, we’re going to have to figure out how best to vaccinate those who really need it first,” she said.
There are still many unknowns, she said, including whether the CDC will put restrictions on the vaccines after FDA approval or leave it up to the states to determine how to distribute them.
“We are not planning to do massive vaccine campaigns as we had done previously because we don’t have any funding for that,” Char said. “We’re looking to get it as widely dispersed as we can into 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 that it’s convenient.”
The COVID-19 boosters currently available are based on the original strain of the coronavirus, she said. While they are still very protective against severe illness 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 prior infections as well as vaccinations.
However, omicron subvariant BA.5 has edged out BA.4, and is the predominant strain across the globe, including in the U.S. and in Hawaii.
BA.5 now makes up 88.7% of cases nationwide, according to the CDC, while a new variant of concern, BA.4.6, makes up 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 targeting omicron subvariants such as BA.5, will also help prevent infections. She expects uptake will be brisk.
“So with that it’s thought we will not only be protected from severe illness and hospitalization,” she said, “but also help to minimize even getting infected or getting reinfected. So it should kind of beef up those neutralizing antibodies.”
To date, 77.3% of Hawaii’s population has completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines, with 44.7% boosted once and 11.5% boosted twice.
The first booster is available to all residents age 5 and older if it has been at least five months since completing the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines. The second booster is available to those age 50 and older at least four months after the first, as well as to those age 12 and up who are moderately or severely immunocompromised.
Char said pharmacies and federally qualified health centers are able to preorder doses of the bivalent vaccines independent of the state.
