Want a Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine in Florida? Here’s where to go for your shot
Florida residents who prefer the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine will have to go to one of the state’s four federally supported mega sites in Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville or Orlando in order to get one.
Vaccination sites run by the Florida Division of Emergency Management or local municipalities — the vast majority of the sites in Florida — are not carrying the vaccine, a spokesperson for the Division told the Miami Herald on Wednesday.
“This vaccine will continue to be offered at the federally supported sites in Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa, and those are the best locations for eligible individuals to go if they are interested in receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” spokesperson Jason Mahon said in an email.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency-supported sites are following state guidelines on vaccine eligibility. Those who qualify: long-term care facility residents and staff, people 65 and older, health care personnel with direct patient contact, K-12 employees, sworn law enforcement and firefighters 50 and older, and medically vulnerable people with a signed physician’s note.
Publix pharmacies also appear to be offering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Florida, prioritizing K-12 staff, as part of a federal program.
In Miami-Dade, the main federal vaccine site is at Miami Dade College North. Each federally supported mega-site also operates two satellite locations in their metro areas. For Miami, those sites have been in Florida City, which has been administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, as well as in Sweetwater.
But the two smaller sites are moving on Thursday, opening at Allen Park Community Center at 1770 NE 162nd St. in North Miami Beach and at the Miami Springs Community Center at 1401 Westward Drive. The sites will remain at the new locations through March 17.
The “satellite” sites are pop-ups that typically relocate every three to seven days to other underserved parts of the county, according to the division. They can administer up to 500 vaccines each day as walk-up sites, which means you’ll wait standing in line instead of waiting in your car. Each site will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and no appointments are needed.
The sites will return to Ronselli Park Youth Center, 250 SW 114th Ave. in Sweetwater, and the Florida City Youth Activity Center, 650 NW Fifth Ave., when it’s time for people who got the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine to receive their second injection, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Why J&J over Pfizer or Moderna?
Unlike the authorized Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines that require two doses separated by about a month, the Johnson & Johnson shot requires only one dose. It also can be stored for three months at normal temperatures, easing distribution efforts and accelerating vaccination rates compared to the currently available vaccines that require ultra cold refrigeration.
The Johnson & Johnson shot is a viral vector vaccine.
It works by delivering a harmless DNA virus called an adenovirus that has been genetically modified so it cannot make copies of itself in humans or cause disease — like a box that contains a user-friendly handbook on anything and everything coronavirus.
These types of viruses, when not manipulated by scientists, cause the common cold, “so they’re good for transporting things into humans,” the company said.
This modified virus carries specific instructions into our cells that teach them how to make the spike protein the novel coronavirus uses to infect people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Many are drawn to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because it is a one-dose regimen. Others prefer it because of its safety profile.
Immediate reactions to the shot 30 minutes post vaccination were “infrequent,” occurring in 0.02% of participants, while there were no reports of anaphylaxis, or severe allergic reactions, immediately after getting jabbed.
Miami Herald Staff Writer Michelle Marchante and McClatchy Staff Writer Katie Camero contributed to this report.
