COVID-19 vaccine OK’ed by western states

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On Sunday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that a coalition of Western states had approved a COVID-19 vaccine, independently approved as part of an effort for more scrutiny over a prospective treatment by the states involved.

During a press conference Dec. 13, Inslee announced that the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup had authorized the use of a COVID-19 vaccine produced by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BoiNTech. The work group, comprising vaccine experts from Washington, California, Oregon and Nevada, had been working together to review all prospective vaccines for COVID-19, a release from Inslee’s office stated. 

“I’m pleased that the Western States Workgroup gave their unanimous recommendation to the vaccine last night and encourages immediate use of the vaccine in our states,” Inslee said during the press conference. “It cannot come soon enough — with Washington closing in on 200,000 total COVID cases and approaching 3,000 deaths — this help is much needed to prevent further infection, hospitalization and loss of life.”

The governor’s press release stated that the first shipments of the vaccine could be administered as soon as Dec. 15. Healthcare, long-term care facilities and tribal governments statewide would be among the first recipients of the vaccine rollout. 



Though the vaccine’s distribution was imminent, Inslee cautioned that the pandemic was not coming to a close.

“This doesn't mean we are out of the woods yet,” Inslee said. “We can’t let up on masking, physical distancing and restrictions on indoor activities. We need to continue to slow the rate of infection as we work to get Washingtonians vaccinated. We must keep up the fight a little longer and I know we will get through this, together.”