Northwest Arkansas vaccine clinics reach wider

Northwest Arkansas residents have several opportunities this week to pop in, get a covid-19 vaccination and go about their day.

The Northwest Arkansas Council today is inviting anyone 16 and older to get the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. A walk-in clinic is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at J.B. Hunt headquarters, 708 W. Blossom Ave. in Lowell. About 2,500 doses will be available.

The clinic is the second hosted this week by the council’s Health Care Transformation Division. On Wednesday, the old Sears service center at the Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville had about 2,500 doses ready to go in arms.

Any doses not administered in Fayetteville will be made available at the Lowell clinic today, said Ryan Cork, executive director of the council’s Health Care Transformation Division. The council plans to administer about 5,000 Pfizer shots every week for 10 weeks, he said.

Demand was steady in Fayetteville, Cork said. The council keeps about 2,200 doses on hand for people who register for a shot, with the rest available for those who simply drive up, he said.

“The whole process is easier if you have an appointment, like anything,” Cork said. “If you go to the DMV and you have an appointment, it’s going to be faster than if you just showed up. But you’ll still be seen.”

The council started holding vaccination clinics in February. After five events, more than 9,200 doses have been administered, Cork said.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences this week opened a drivethrough Pfizer vaccine clinic for the general public at 1100 N. Woolsey Ave. in Fayetteville. The clinic will be open to those who register in advance 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Friday.

A photo ID, phone number, date of birth and name is required at the UAMS clinic.

Collier Drug is hosting a clinic at its store at 991 W. Centerton Blvd. on Friday and its Fayetteville Dickson Street store on Saturday. Forms can be filled out at the pharmacy’s website at collierdrug. com or at its Facebook page, facebook.com/CollierDrugStore.

Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas is hosting its third vaccine clinic Saturday. Participation is limited to MANA patients, said Carole Masterson, marketing director.

Patients can call their doctor’s office or a general line at (479) 571-6588. The first dose of the Moderna vaccine will

be available from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. The one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The clinic will have 400 doses of Moderna and 200 doses of Johnson & Johnson available, Masterson said. Saturday’s clinic will be the first to offer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, she said. Two previous Saturday clinics administered 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine combined.

Patients with Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas have received notification via email, text message and through an online patient portal. The clinics began with primarily high-risk patients first but have branched out to more people above the age of 18, Masterson said.

“We’ve definitely seen a slowdown in demand,” she said. “The first clinics we had filled in an hour when we sent out notifications.”