Santa Clara County says it got a much needed boost for its vaccination plan Monday when it's initial shipment of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine arrived.
It received 7,500 doses of the new vaccine and thought it might not seem like a lot overall, there is a lot of enthusiasm among many.
The traffic into the vaccine center at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds is constant and thought Pfizer and Moderna are being used, Rita Moya of San Jose was excited to hear about the single-vaccine vaccine.
“The only reason I want to get that one is because it’s just one instead of two,” she said. “I work with kids.”
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Many people were expecting Johnson & Johnson shots, NBC Bay Area was shown an email that told recipients that’s what they would get, but a follow-up email said it would be Pfizer instead.
The Director of Vaccines for the Public Health Department Doctor Marty Fenstersheib said the county was just anticipating an earlier shipment.
“It just arrived at the health department this morning,” said Fenstersheib. “Well basically as we bring vaccines in, we just do a little bit of accounting and then we ship it over to the clinic or wherever it’s going to be given.”
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Other Bay Area counties also reported getting, or are in the midst of getting, Johnson & Johnson doses.
Santa Clara also says it will be reaching out to those who would benefit most from a single-shot such as the homeless, or people homebound.
But Fenstersheib says the vaccine will be distributed generally, so the public won’t be able to choose where to go to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or avoid it.
Moya says she’ll take what she can get. When asked if she was disappointed about not getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, she said, “just a little bit, because I really wanted Johnson & Johnson.”
It might be an issue for those going to county facilities but many private health providers, such as Kaiser, get supplies directly from the state. So it is still a viable option for those who want it.
