The HealthWise mobile vaccine unit for ONU was just one of many that had to change from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after the CDC and FDA put a pause on its use earlier this month.
The state provided the clinic with the Moderna vaccine in the mean time. "We’ve used the Moderna vaccine for a number of other vaccination clinics that we’ve held, especially through the schools, and so we're familiar with with its use," said Dr. Steven Martin, dean of Raabe College of Pharmacy at ONU. "I think the biggest challenge is that we have to schedule people to come back in 28 days to order to get their second shot."
But now, after Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was approved to be administered again, the mobile clinic will be giving out that single dose. Over the last two weeks, the clinic has seen a drop off of appointments - about 10% of what they were seeing back at the end of March - and those with the Raabe College of Pharmacy say it could just be chalked up to people wanting a specific vaccine.
"We think that that means a lot of people want the one-and-done shot, and so now that we are able to provide that again, I’m hopeful that that will increase the number of appointments that we see, and clearly the number of people that get vaccinated here in Ohio," said Dr. Martin.
And as the clinic prepares to roll out to its other stops in the area, they want to stress that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is not something that people should be afraid of.
"The J&J vaccine, despite what we’ve learned in the last few weeks, is incredibly safe, especially compared to almost any of the other medications that we typically use today," said Dr. Martin. "I think that anyone who is concerned or hesitant about receiving the J&J vaccine should know there’s an abundance of information that suggests it’s a very safe and effective vaccine."
Here's a list of the clinic's next stops:
April 27
Marion County: Marion County Fairgrounds, 12-6 p.m.
April 28
Union County: Union County Fairgrounds, Marysville, 12-6: p.m.
April 29
Crawford County: Crawford County Fairgrounds, Bucyrus, 11-5 p.m.
April 30
Hardin County: Ohio Northern University King Horn Sports Center, Ada, 2-6:30 p.m.
May 4
Wyandot County: Carey Public School, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
May 5
Union County: Union County Fairgrounds, Marysville, 12-6 p.m.
May 6
Logan County: Goshen Friends Church, Zanesville, 9-11:30 a.m.
Quincy Municipal Building, 1:30-4 p.m.
May 7
Hardin County: Ohio Northern University King Horn Sports Center, Ada, 2-6:30 p.m.
May 11
Marion County: Marion County Fairgrounds, 12-6 p.m.
May 12
Union County: Union County Fairgrounds, Marysville, 12-6 p.m.
May 13
Crawford County: Crawford County Fairgrounds, Bucyrus, 1-7 p.m.
May 14
Hardin County: Ohio Northern University King Horn Sports Center, Ada, 2-6:30 p.m.
May 18
Wyandot County: Sycamore Event Center, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Carey Public School, 3:30-7:30 p.m.
May 19
Union County: Union County Fairgrounds, Marysville, 12-6 p.m.
May 20
Logan County: Belle Center Fire Station, 9-11:30 a.m.
West Liberty Quest Community Church, 1:30-4 p.m.
May 21
Hardin County: Ohio Northern University King Horn Sports Center, Ada, 2-6:30 p.m.
May 25
Marion County: Marion County Fairgrounds, 12-6 p.m.
May 26
Union County: Union County Fairgrounds, Marysville, 12-6 p.m.
May 27
Crawford County: Crawford County Fairgrounds, Bucyrus, 1-7 p.m.
May 28
Hardin County: Ohio Northern University King Horn Sports Center, Ada, 2-6:30 p.m.
