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Minnesota Department of Health

March 10, 2022

• Shelf-life extension for Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine
• Report excess inventory of COVID-19 vaccine
• COVID-19 vaccine requests being filled by redistribution
• Recent studies about COVID-19 vaccinations in children and adolescents

Shelf-life extension for Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of a shelf-life extension for the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine from six months to nine months, providing an additional three months. This applies to all inventory dated to expire on March 7, 2022, or later. Vaccine dated prior to March 7, 2022, should be reported as nonviable in MIIC. This extension applies to refrigerated vials of Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. Please visit Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Expiry Checker to confirm expiration dates.

Report excess inventory of COVID-19 vaccine

If your site has excess inventory of COVID-19 vaccines, please report them via our SmartSheet tool: COVID-19 Vaccine Available for Redistribution at least four to six weeks prior to their expiration so we can facilitate redistribution and minimize wastage.

COVID-19 vaccine requests being filled by redistribution

To reduce vaccine wastage, we are making every effort to fill most COVID-19 vaccine requests via redistribution. CDC is not currently shipping Pfizer 5-11-year-old (orange cap) vaccine with an expiration date beyond May 31. Given the current administration rate of this product, we project that we have more than enough 5-11-year-old vaccine in the state for the current demand, so most requests for 5-11-year-old vaccine will be filled via redistribution. We can also fulfill requests for Janssen doses via redistribution.

If you’d like to request doses, please use the SmartSheet tool: COVID-19 Vaccine Available for Redistribution.

Questions? Contact us at health.mdhvaccine@state.mn.us.

Recent studies about COVID-19 vaccinations in children and adolescents

Recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) support the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination. Use this information in discussions with parents and encourage them to have their children remain up to date with recommended vaccinations.

• Safety Monitoring of COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses Among Persons Aged 12-17 Years — United States, December 9, 2021-February 20, 2022
  The report shows that adolescents 12-17 years old experienced reactions after Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine booster that were generally mild-to-moderate and transient. The reported frequency of local and systemic reactions after a booster was equal to or slightly higher than after the second primary dose. Myocarditis was also less frequently reported after a booster dose than a second primary dose.
• Effectiveness of COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccination in Preventing COVID-19–Associated Emergency Department and Urgent Care Encounters and Hospitalizations Among Nonimmunocompromised Children and Adolescents Aged 5–17 Years — VISION Network, 10 States, April 2021–January 2022
  Two doses protect against COVID-19-associated emergency department and urgent care encounters among children and adolescents. However, vaccine effectiveness (VE) was lower during Omicron predominance and decreased with time since vaccination; a booster dose restored VE to 81% among adolescents aged 16-17 years. Overall, two-dose VE against COVID-19-associated hospitalization was 73% to 94%.

Find previous bulletins at COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Updates.

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