Gov. John Bel Edwards held his weekly news conference Thursday where he said Louisiana could see a substantial amount more vaccines pending the emergency use authorization of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
This comes just one day after Dr. Joseph Kanter with the Louisiana Department of Health reported that the state has caught up on delayed vaccine shipments due to last week’s winter storm. Edwards said that he and other health leaders anticipate that the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will be given emergency use approval by the FDA by the end of the week. If this happens, Edwards says that the state could get a shipment of those vaccines by next week. Kanter said this is good news because this shot is a one-dose vaccine, which will allow more people to get vaccinated in the state without needing a second appointment. According to Kanter, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine does not need special shipment similar to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that have to be stored in very cold conditions.
Louisiana is expecting 52,000 Pfizer doses and 45,000 Moderna doses next week.
