COVID-19 vaccines now are available from three drug manufacturers: Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. This is good news because it means both an increase in supply and more tools to help protect people. The newest vaccine is made by Johnson & Johnson and is a single-dose vaccine that has proven to prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death from the disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found it to be safe and effective, and on February 27, 2021, authorized it for emergency use for individuals ages 18 years and older.
This week, Virginia received 69,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines which will be prioritized for mass vaccination clinics across the state, including in the Blue Ridge Health District.
On Tuesday, BRHD received 2,000 Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. We will administer these on Friday and Saturday at vaccination clinics designated for individuals ages 65+ from throughout the District. Invitations to schedule an appointment at these clinics will be sent today, via email, to 2,000 individuals ages 65+ that are next on the list to be vaccinated (in order of when they completed a BRHD pre-registration survey). BRHD is temporarily using EventBrite to schedule appointments. Individuals will receive a branded email from EventBrite inviting them to the Johnson & Johnson clinics. All those with appointments will confirm their appointment at check in and register onsite in our statewide PrepMod system. Remember, EventBrite invitations can often end up in a Gmail "Promotions" folder. There will be a waitlist of individuals ages 65+, who are next on the survey list, that will be called should there be any vaccine left towards the end of the clinics. As a reminder, all BRHD vaccine clinics remain by appointment only.
BRHD is excited to begin offering another COVID-19 vaccine. However, due to limited supply of this new vaccine, BRHD will not receive more Johnson & Johnson vaccines for at least the next two weeks.
See the infographic and information below to learn more about the three COVID-19 vaccines.