While the possibility of boosters for COVID-19 vaccines exists, state and city health organizations aren’t concerned about the distribution.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been hearing from the federal government to be ready and prepared,” said Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, in a news conference. “But we have an amazing immunization team who does immunization all the time.”<\/p>\n
Alaska currently has more than 320,000 residents who have received their first dose, Zink said. A requirement for a booster, either to maintain the efficacy of the vaccine or as a follow-on to enhance its effectiveness against coronavirus variants, would be handled through regular channels, said Matthew Bobo, the state’s immunization program manager.<\/p>\n
“If a booster dose happens, we’ll use the logistical channels we have with our providers to get those doses out,” Bobo said during the news conference. “We’ll use our day-to-day channels.”<\/p>\n
[Gov proposes land exchange for Vietnam-era Alaska Native veterans]<\/ins><\/a><\/p>\n The necessity for boosters will depend on how long the vaccine remains effective and how effective it is against potential variants, said Robert Barr, the emergency operations center planning chief for the City and Borough of Juneau in a phone interview.<\/p>\n “We’re still really waiting for more information on that. We still don’t really know how long the vaccines will last for,” Barr said. “They’re certainly more effective than flu vaccines. Flu vaccines begin to waver after three months or so.”<\/p>\n Barr said they’ll trust the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for guidance on the issue as they consider how best to execute.<\/p>\n “We’re going to look to the CDC and assess,” Barr said. “I would speculate at this point that if a booster did become necessary, we’d do a couple of large clinics.”<\/p>\n