Here’s why ‘surprise’ J&J vaccine sites are popping up in Florida neighborhoods
Buses stocked with hundreds of Johnson & Johnson vaccines are setting up at pop-up sites across Florida. But you likely won’t hear about them in a formal announcement.
The sites are targeting underserved communities, said Jared Moskowitz, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is tasked with the state’s vaccine distribution.
“The buses are being used specifically in underserved communities to help increase access and battle vaccine hesitancy,” he said. “We’re exclusively using Johnson & Johnson so it’s a one shot deal.”
So far, the division has 14 buses offering one-and-done vaccinations for people who have less access to the vaccine. The campaign has been so successful, allocations recently increased from 200 to 400 shots a day for each bus, Moskowitz said.
He said the state uses local partners to help spread the word in communities that are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The division sometimes announces the pop-up sites online through its weekly updates. However, it’s common for people to hear about the site from a friend or a neighbor. Others find out through social media and news reports.
J&J pop-ups have previously been held at food banks, places of worship and Salvation Army locations. For the past month, some of these J&J units have parked alongside Feeding South Florida food drives.
The nonprofit has helped put food on the table for thousands of families in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties throughout the pandemic. And now, they’re hoping to make vaccine access easier, too.
“We recognize and understand that the families we serve don’t get that fair and equitable access to a lot of resources because they don’t have Internet access, access to transportation or because they don’t have health insurance,” said Feeding South Florida President and CEO Paco Vélez.
With the new partnership, families in need can get their food, and if they meet state guidelines, can also get a vaccine on site through one of the state’s mobile units, Vélez said. However, he said the J&J pop-ups are not at every Feeding South Florida food drive. He said the nonprofit would not be publishing a schedule detailing which distribution event will have a J&J pop-up.
Vélez said it’s to avoid what happened Wednesday at the food distribution events in Miami Beach and Homestead where people who didn’t need food showed up just for the shot. Some had heard about the J&J distribution through news reports and social media posts.
The neighborhood sites come at a time when the J&J vaccines are in short supply. Federally supported sites in Florida don’t have any in stock, although they are still available at smaller retail pharmacies, including Publix. Meanwhile, adding to the J&J supply woes, the company reported that a batch of vaccine made by Emergent at its Baltimore factory can’t be used because it didn’t meet quality standards, according to The Associated Press. It’s not known how many doses were involved or how the issue will affect future deliveries of J&J’s vaccine.
Miami Beach Commissioner David Richardson, who has previously posted about J&J availability at Miami Beach food drives, took to Facebook Live Wednesday to explain why the J&J mobile units are not being publicized and when they are, it’s with short notice.
“There was a little bit of a leak last night so we had some people waiting this morning,” Richardson said in the video. “You know we’re not supposed to announce these events and I know some of my friends are a little frustrated with me that I won’t give you advance notice on where we’re going to be but we try to keep it a surprise because we do not want people to spend the night waiting for a shot and have security issues.”
Another Feeding South Florida food drive with a J&J pop-up was expected to be held at Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah Thursday but it has been canceled. It will now be held Thursday at the Florida City Youth Activity Center, 650 NW Fifth Ave. Several other J&J pop-up sites will be held in South Florida Thursday, including at Global Church, 7701 NW 57th Ave. in Miami Gardens, and First Brazilian Baptist Church, 1103 NE 33rd St. in Pompano Beach.
Vélez, Feeding South Florida’s CEO, said mobile vaccination units from the state will eventually be at select food drives in Broward and Palm Beach counties. He only wants people who need Feeding South Florida’s services to use the J&J pop-ups at their distribution events. He’s asking everyone else to find another vaccination site like a hospital or pharmacy or one of the other vaccine sites.
“Our families who need food truly need food and those distributions and those vaccinations are for those families who are struggling to put food on the table,” Vélez said. “If someone doesn’t need food, please make an appointment somewhere else to make sure we’re leaving the food and the vaccinations for families who are truly struggling.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 8:46 AM.
