Wake County Public Health is moving forward with the usage of Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) vaccine following guidance from N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food & Drug Administration.
Late Friday afternoon, those state and federal agencies reaffirmed their confidence that the J&J vaccine is safe and effective in preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 for anyone 18 years and older in the U.S. under FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).
Wake County has 7,902 J&J doses in storage at this time. The first J&J clinics for this single-dose vaccine are planned for this Thursday and Friday, April 29 and 30, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Ting Park in Holly Springs. Those appointments are available now at WakeGov.com/vaccine.
The FDA has noted the risk for the extremely unlikely, but serious, blood-clotting disorder in the EUA patient fact sheet on the J&J COVID-19 vaccine to help ensure people have all the information they need to decide whether to get the vaccine. Our clinical staff will provide additional education to those who are at higher risk, including those who are female.
“As with everything we have done in the past, we want to offer the choice of J&J for those who are seeking that unique, one-shot vaccine,” said Ryan Jury, Wake County Public Health’s Vaccine Branch Director. “Safety during and after vaccination is very important to us. Health and safety have always been guiding principles for Wake County Public Health.”
Because it only requires one dose and can be stored in a regular refrigerator at doctor’s offices, pharmacies or other community settings, the J&J vaccine offers great convenience for many residents. Further planning is underway to schedule more opportunities in the community for this single-dose vaccine.
The push to bring lifesaving COVID-19 shots to more communities across Wake County continued today with the opening of a new vaccination clinic in Wake Forest at the Wake County Human Services Northern Regional Center. At this time, that location has appointments available 4 days next week for the Moderna vaccine. Two other locations are offer 4 days each for the Pfizer vaccine. Evening and weekend hours are available at all of those locations.
Vaccine appointments are available for anyone 16 and older and usually only take a half-hour, including the 15-minute observation period after the shot. Anyone can get an appointment by going to WakeGov.com/vaccine or by calling the vaccine hotline at 888-675-4567. After answering a few questions, you can immediately access the appointment schedule for convenient appointment slots.
