FDA approval will likely send omicron-specific COVID vaccines to Washington

With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of two updated Omicron-specific COVID vaccines, new shots could be available for Washingtonians and Pierce County residents in the coming weeks.

In a press release Wednesday morning, the FDA announced it had signed off on updated Moderna and Pfizer vaccines that incorporate specific protection against Omicron, the variant responsible for the vast majority of COVID cases this year.

According to Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department spokesperson Kenny Via, the new boosters require reviews from four more government agencies before they can be distributed by Washington State local health departments: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Western States Scientific Safety Review Group, the Washington State Department of Health, and county health regulators.

On Friday, the Washington State Department of Health did not know how long the approvals would take, spokesperson Raechel Sims told The News Tribune in an email. Via also did not predict a precise date for the process, but he expected each organization to review the new shots efficiently and for them to become available in early-to-mid September.

“We’ve been through this all before,” Via said. “Every time it’s the same process.”

While specific measurements of the shots’ health benefits are likely to be unavailable until the other reviews start, TCPHD communicable disease control division director Nigel Turner told the newspaper they will almost certainly be able to combat new variants more effectively than their prior iterations.

“It should offer a high degree of protection,” Turner said. “[It] uses the same methodology that’s used every year for developing flu boosters. This is the same way it’s tested.”

Like previous versions of COVID shots, the Omicron boosters will be offered by county health departments before dissemination to pharmacies, private clinics, and other vaccine distributors. As of Friday, the state health department had ordered 191,900 boosters and TPCHD had requested 12,000.

“Vaccines continue to be vitally important to people,” Turner said. “[People should] check out our website so they can access the primary series and, of course, the updated booster.”