PORTLAND, Oregon - Oregon received more than 34,000 doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine this week. Now, Director Pat Allen is explaining the plans the state has for this first shipment.

On Wednesday, Director Allen said in a weekly update with the House Committee on Health Care that almost 9% of Oregon's population is already fully vaccinated. These new Johnson & Johnson doses arriving in Oregon will be distributed to a number of locations across the state, including mass vaccination centers, pharmacies and specific populations eligible for vaccination.

"This vaccine is extremely effective at preventing extreme disease, so hospitalizations and deaths, which really is the thing that we are trying to drive. And it is a single-dose vaccine that has much more forgiving shipping and handling characteristics," Director Allen said. Here's the breakdown from the Wednesday presentation:

5000 doses will go to OHSU's drive-thru vaccination site at PDX 4800 doses will go to adult foster homes and homebound seniors in in Clackamas, Douglas, Baker and Multnomah County 9200 vaccine doses will go to other "hard to reach" populations like inmates and people experiencing homelessness 15,400 doses will go to pharmacies through their new state partnership Director Allen says more than half of the new doses from Johnson & Johnson, will go towards a new state pharmacy program, in partnership with Bi-Mart and Walmart. Bi-Mart is expected to start vaccinating with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as soon as Thursday. Walmart is expected to start vaccinating people as soon as this coming weekend.

On Tuesday, President Biden's asserted that the U.S. would have enough vaccine doses for all adults by end of May. Whether that would adjust the Oregon timeline released last week remains to be seen.

On Wednesday, Director Allen said the new partnership between Johnson & Johnson and Merck would likely allow them to expedite the timeline for eligible categories to get vaccinated. He did, however, say that he would like the state to get through the population over the age of 65 before making decisions on other eligibility groups.

The state doesn't expect to receive more Johnson & Johnson doses until the last week of May. Read full story