Mid-Missouri pharmacies, health departments cancel Johnson & Johnson appointments
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mid-Missouri pharmacies and health departments on Tuesday were canceling appointments and clinics where they planned to give out Johnson & Johnson coronavirus shots.
The cancellations were necessary after the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced the state has paused the use of Johnson and Johnson's vaccine after reports of blood clots. Earlier Tuesday, the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended all vaccinations pause use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot.
State officials said last week that the state expected to receive 10,600 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine this week.
"From the beginning, my administration has supported the rigorous testing, trial, and stringent evaluation of all COVID-19 vaccines," Gov. Mike Parson said in a statement. "We have paused state-allocated Johnson & Johnson vaccinations out of the same abundance of caution and await further guidance from the FDA. "
Parson said the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines remain available throughout the state this week.
Flow's Pharmacy owner Anthony Desha said plans were in place to schedule Johnson and Johnson vaccine appointments for Friday with the pharmacy's 400 doses of the shot. He said anyone who has scheduled a Johnson & Johnson appointment should get in touch with Flow's if they are not contacted to schedule a Moderna or Pfizer appointment for next week.
Desha said the pharmacy has plenty of Pfizer and Moderna doses to administer.
D&H Drugstore has canceled Johnson & Johnson vaccine appointments that were set for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Owner of D&H, Tanya Alberty, said they do have Moderna in stock and have filled appointments, but have also had people who are not willing to receive a dose other than Johnson and Johnson.
Alberty said she has not seen too much concern in people because of the fact that it has only been six people in 6.5 million that have received the dose.
Cole County Health Department Director Kristi Campbell said Tuesday that a 100-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccination clinic planned for Thursday is canceled because of the news.
Campbell said the health department is working toward getting those 100 people rescheduled for a community vaccination site at the Capital Mall giving out the Pfizer two-dose shot.
The health department plans to give out 1,000 doses per day at the Mall site, which is open to walk-ins if all appointment slots are not filled.
Campbell said this will affect plans for outreach clinics in undeserved areas in Jefferson City toward the end of the month. She said these plans will likely be put on hold because Johnson & Johnson's one dose was easiest to reach people in those areas.
Audrain County Health Department spokesman Craig Brace said those who had appointments scheduled for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are being contacted and being offered a Moderna appointment.
Brace said they have only given out 14 Johnson and Johnson doses so far, but have contacted all 14 of those people today to let them know about the recent information on blood clotting.
It is not clear as of now when these vaccine appointments will be rescheduled.
State officials said last week that Missouri will get 84,240 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine; 62,000 doses of Moderna and 10,600 doses of Johnson & Johnson.
People who have scheduled Johnson and Johnson appointments and are now looking for other options, should look for new appointments on the state's vaccine website.
