Washington Joins Western State Pact To Review Coronavirus Vaccine

WASHINGTON — Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday that Washington will join the Western State Pact to review the safety of any future coronavirus vaccines before they are distributed to the public.

According to Inslee, joining the pact creates an added layer of assurance that the vaccine is effective and safe, and will hopefully increase the number of people who are willing to get vaccinated.

"We would like to give Washingtonians the highest confidence that when a COVID-19 vaccine is available that it's safe and works," Inslee said.

With the announcement, the Western State Pact now includes Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, and Nevada. Under the pact, each state is allowed to appoint members to a panel of experts who will independently review potential coronavirus vaccines alongside the FDA.

"It will bring an additional level of scrutiny to this process," Inslee said.

The governor says, with this pact, Washingtonians should be confident that any vaccine that meets approval will be safe. The FDA recently released information clarifying their safety requirements for any publicly-available vaccine, and federal government will also have two independent groups evaluate the vaccine's safety, making the pact the fourth line of defense against potential issues.

"Obviously we know that cannot be guaranteed that there will be an approval, but we do have now and will have high confidence in the process," Inslee said.

The Washington state's panel will review data concurrently with the FDA and federal boards, meaning it should not result in a delay for Washingtonians after a vaccine is approved at the federal level.

Once the vaccine has been approved, the state is working on a plan to distribute it as quickly and equitably as possible. Just last week Washington submitted their COVID-19 vaccination plan to the CDC for review and revision.

Read more: Washington Submits COVID-19 Vaccination Plan To CDC

When asked if the state would mandate vaccinations should a vaccine be approved, the governor was emphatic that Washington would not force vaccination on anyone.

"There has been no discussion about mandating this vaccine," Inslee said. "No one has proposed that."

Still, Inslee expressed confidence that, should a vaccine be released, enough Washingtonians will voluntarily vaccinate to make the process effective.

"I believe we will succeed in getting large numbers of people, I would say the requisite number of people to actually knock down this virus." Inslee said. "Describe me as cautiously optimistic."

As for when a vaccine may be publicly available: it could still be some time yet. Several vaccines are being tested right now, but it's unknown which, if any, will end up being viable. The Washington State Department of Health says they will continue to closely monitor the Food and Drug Administration's approval process to make sure it is both thorough and transparent to the public.

This article originally appeared on the Puyallup Patch