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Idaho COVID-19 task force member details vaccine progress

Former CEO of St. Lukes Health System Dr. David Pate gives insight on two COVID-19 vaccines that look promising.

BOISE, Idaho — Early data from Moderna Biotechnology company shows its vaccine could be 94.5% effective at preventing COVID-19. Pfizer has also announced its vaccine is more than 90% effective.

Although those numbers could change before the final vaccine is released, the data is very promising, according to Dr. David Pate, the former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and member of the Idaho COVID-19 Task Force.

“This was, pardon the pun, a great shot in the arm,” Pate said. “What I was hoping for was 70%, and then I was going to be elated if it was 80%. Being over 90% is beyond my wildest dreams.”

Both Moderna and Pfizer are weeks away from getting an expected emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Both vaccines use brand new technology that has never been used before. Instead of a typical vaccine involving an actual virus or a protein from the virus, these utilize a new method to trigger an immune response.

“This technology is actually quite interesting," Pate said. "We inject a piece of the genetic code of the virus that will then get into our cells and tell our cells make this protein and it makes the viral protein. That cannot get you infected, you need way more than that, but what’s happening is you are making the protein yourself and then your body is realizing it’s not a normal protein and is then mounting an immune response.”

Mass availability of the two vaccines will not be immediate. During Gov. Brad Little’s COVID-19 news conference Friday, state epidemiologist Dr. Christine Hahn outlined who in Idaho would likely get the vaccine first.

“I think it will most likely be healthcare workers," Hahn said during the conference. "Our job in Idaho will be working with our vaccine advisory committee on how to get it out quickly and effectively to those healthcare workers that the advisory committee feels should be getting it first."

In terms of the general public’s access, it could be difficult to pinpoint exactly when that could happen.

“I’m guessing that the majority of Idahoans could get vaccinated sometime between April and June next year,” Pate said.

Getting enough people to take the vaccine and achieving herd immunity is key. With a vaccine effectiveness of over 90%, the goal is to have about 65% to 75% of Idahoans to get it. 

Vaccines will likely need to be taken in two doses three to four weeks apart. The second dose kicks the immune response into high gear after the initial introduction response in the first dose.

“We need you to take the vaccine, that’s how we get [back to normal]," Pate said. "If you say you want all those things but you won’t get the vaccine, and there is enough of you, we are not going to get there."

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