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The federal government will help launch a mass vaccination site at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center with LCMC Health, the New Orleans Department of Health and the state, according to a hospital spokesperson.
The site will aim to distribute hundreds and then thousands of coronavirus vaccines daily as supply increases. Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine will be distributed on the site as it becomes available.
A Food & Drug Administration advisory committee will vote this week on the emergency use clearance recommendation for Johnson & Johnson, the third potential vaccine in the U.S. If cleared, the company plans to start shipping vaccines immediately, promising 20 million doses to Americans by the end of March, according to a statement.
Local pharmacies are crucial to the state’s immunization plan, but they are stretched
Louisiana received 90,000 doses of the vaccine this week, but demand still exceeds supply. However, officials expect a windfall in supply large enough in the coming weeks to support mass vaccinations. It is not yet known when the site will open.
“We want to assure the community that when more vaccines become available, we will be ready to offer them in bulk,” said Gregory Feirn, CEO of LCMC.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide a $ 4.1 million grant to fund the site.
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Vaccine administration at the site will respect Louisiana’s current qualifying groups: healthcare workers, residents and staff in nursing and long-term care communities, teachers, school staff, daycares , home care providers, pregnant women, law enforcement, anyone 65 and over. above and people aged 55 to 65 with certain health problems.
As the supply increases, other groups will be added.
“It is vital that we step up our vaccination efforts to ensure that all of our residents can be protected from COVID-19, and we need the space to do so,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “I thank LCMC Health for stepping up its joint efforts in partnership with the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center team to put in place plans to immunize our residents so that we can be a stronger, healthier city on the road to recovery. . “
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The news comes after representatives said the Smoothie King Center and Superdome were not available as mass vaccination sites due to ongoing renovations.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is ideal for large effort as it does not have the same cold storage requirements as Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and is only one vaccine. Johnson & Johnson was 72% effective in preventing moderate and severe disease in a US clinical trial and 66% in a global trial. It was 100% effective in preventing death.
Emily Woodruff covers public health for The Times-Picayune | New Orleans lawyer as a member of the Report For America corps.
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