Johnson & Johnson vaccine bypassing Whitman County

COLFAX — The Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID vaccine will not be coming to Whitman County anytime soon.

“We’re pretty low down on the priority list to get the Johnson & Johnson because we are so fast getting shots into arms,” Chris Skidmore, Whitman County health director, told the county commissioners on Monday.

The vaccine has been a subject of some controversy as it was developed with the aid of abortion-derived cell lines. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops advised church members, who have a choice among vaccines, to choose the Pfizer or Moderna options.

“We’re really a Pfizer cou...