Florida’s Johnson & Johnson vaccine shipment is delayed. Where can you get the shot?
Are you trying to get a Johnson & Johnson vaccine?
You’ll likely have to wait a while.
“We have no more J&J coming for the foreseeable future,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday at a news conference in Palm Harbor. “For the next two or three weeks, we’re not anticipating any new J&J.”
Unlike Pfizer and Moderna’s two-dose vaccine, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine requires a single dose, making it a popular choice among Floridians. We don’t know why the shipments are not arriving. DeSantis said he didn’t know what’s holding up the vaccine.
But he had advice for vaccine seekers: “If you’ve been waiting for J&J and you have an opportunity to get Pfizer or Moderna, I’d recommend getting Pfizer or Moderna because I can’t guarantee you J&J is going to be available in the next week or the week after ... it’s beyond our control.”
In South Florida, J&J had been available at federal vaccine sites (at Miami Dade College north campus site and the two FEMA pop-up satellites that move around the county). But as of March 17, the sites only have Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine in stock. Pfizer’s vaccine requires two doses, 21 days apart.
If you get Pfizer now, DeSantis expects you’ll get the booster shot before Florida’s new J&J shipment arrives.
So, where can you find the elusive J&J vaccine?
Publix, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Winn-Dixie and Fresco y Más stores might have some in stock.
The stores are part of the federal retail pharmacy program, which means they get their vaccine shipments directly from the federal government. Their vaccine allocations are separate from Florida’s. None of the companies have announced if their J&J shipments are also delayed, so it’s worth a shot.
Where to get Johnson & Johnson in Florida?
Keep in mind that the companies below schedule vaccinations by appointment and not every store location offers vaccines:
▪ Publix at 7 a.m. on Wednesdays schedules appointments online for Johnson & Johnson vaccinations. It schedules Moderna shots on other days. To check for slots, visit publix.com/covid-vaccine/florida.
▪ Select Winn-Dixie and Fresco y Más stores offer Johnson & Johnson. Other stores offer Moderna. You cannot pick which vaccine you’ll get because of availability. You’ll see which vaccine is in stock in the online appointment scheduler. To check for slots at Winn-Dixie, visit winndixie.com/pharmacy/covid-vaccine. For Fresco y Más, visit frescoymas.com/pharmacy/covid-vaccine.
▪ Select Walmart and Sam’s Club stores offer Johnson & Johnson. Other stores have Pfizer or Moderna. You cannot pick which vaccine you get. To check for slots at Walmart, visit walmart.com/COVIDvaccine. For Sam’s Clubs, visit samsclub.com/covid.
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 8:55 AM.
