The Washington State Department of Health Wednesday provided an update on the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration efforts.

Last week, providers across the state began administering initial doses of COVID-19 vaccine to high-risk health workers, and now, more than 30,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered, the state said. This week, the state allocated 44,850 Pfizer doses and 127,900 Moderna doses. That includes:

• 153,925 doses distributed to more than 220 sites in 37 counties
• 18,825 doses distributed to support long-term care facilities as well as 14 tribes and Urban Indian Health Programs

Snohomish County will be receiving 14,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week.

Over the next several weeks, there will continue to be a limited supply of vaccine, the state health department said. Additionally, vaccine will not be delivered on Christmas or New Year’s Day.

“In early 2021, we hope to move to a consistent pattern of ordering and delivery, to continue the growth of COVID-19 vaccine availability in Washington state,” the health department announcement said.

Last weekend, a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advisory committee voted on vaccine prioritization for later phases, and that will help shape who gets the vaccine in the coming months, the department said.. The federal guidance is the framework for Washington state to make decisions about who will be eligible for vaccine next.  Those prioritization decisions have not been finalized at the state level but those decisions will be shared once they are made, the department added.

Last weekend, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Moderna for emergency use in individuals aged 18 and older. The vaccine also passed independent review by medical experts in the Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, as part of the Western States Pact. This is a two-dose vaccine, given 28 days apart. Clinical trial data show the vaccine is about 94 percent effective after two doses.

Washington state placed an order for 128,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine the morning of Dec. 21. “We do not have confirmation yet specifying when these orders will be delivered.”

Next week’s allocation of the Moderna vaccine is 44,300 doses, the health department announcement said. “The Moderna vaccine will be delivered in a staggered fashion throughout each week, and unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, cold storage and handling is similar to other routinely used vaccines. This will help to distribute vaccine to many more providers across the state.”

For the foreseeable future the state will get its allocation of the Pfizer vaccine on a week-by-week basis. The federal government has shared that the vaccine supply will increase each month, and the state’s allocation of the Pfizer vaccine is 57,525 doses for next week.

One long-term care pharmacy, registered through the Department of Health’s COVID-19 vaccine provider program, began vaccinations at several facilities Dec. 21. The health department expects that facilities registered through the CDC’s long-term care program will begin vaccinations on Dec. 28. This is the first date the national partnership for the long-term care program could be activated due to the large volume of vaccine needed for the program, the state said.