Memphis will give Pfizer shots instead of J&J
The city of Memphis plans to honor any vaccine appointment for the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine with a Pfizer vaccine, the city said Tuesday morning.
“The City of Memphis will honor all appointments and offer the Pfizer vaccine at any site that was scheduled for J&J, due to the CDC recommendation to pause administration of the J&J vaccine,” the city said in a tweet.
The city worked Tuesday to come up with a backup plan after the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that the U.S. pause Johnson & Johnson vaccinations after six people of 6.8 million vaccinated with the drug developed severe blood clots.
Memphis and Shelby County have been largely using Johnson & Johnson as a means of reaching people who live in communities where vaccinations have lagged behind other parts of the city. The ease of transportation and refrigeration of the Johnson & Johnson compared to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines made it ideal for such a task.
And, unlike the other two vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose.
The city had a community vaccination pod planned for the Church of the Ascension in Raleigh Tuesday. Of 1,000 available appointments, 306 had been filled as of 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The Memphis VA Medical Center said Tuesday afternoon it would also stop distributing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine temporarily.
The Tennessee Department of Health said Tuesday it would be following the guidance of the CDC and FDA to pause distribution of the vaccine.
“Our vaccine supply continues to surpass demand and we do not anticipate this shift will impact our efforts to vaccinate as many Tennesseans as possible,” the department said in a statement. “TDH is taking necessary precautions and is coordinating with our vaccine providers that may have the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in supply to ensure those in our state who are seeking a vaccine have access to vaccines manufactured by Pfizer or Moderna.”