ST. LOUIS — A mix-up at a plant making the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has ruined nearly 15 million shots. This is causing problems for those most vulnerable in the St. Charles area.
In St. Charles County, the vaccination efforts are going well according to health director Demetrius Cianci-Chapman. They vaccinated more than 12,000 people last week, most of which received the Pfizer or Moderna shot. The director said a delay in Johnson & Johnson's Janssen shots creates a big problem for those in senior living communities or those who are homebound.
“Accessing health care is a challenge in the U.S.,” Cianci-Chapman said. “For some it’s even more of a challenge. It might not be a transportation issue, some have mobility issues. They might lack the support to get to a frequent appointment.”
The health director said the one-dose vaccine limits the exposure risk for the most vulnerable.
“It could create a situation where they aren't able to come back for a second shot, they lack full immunity,” the health director said.
The ease of delivering the one-and-done shot benefits the staff running the vaccination centers, instead of having double the work with a two-shot dose.
“It’s literally twice as much effort,” the health director said. “Two appointments, two vaccine doses, two trips to the Family Arena or the clinic administering the shots. When you talk about thousands who are mobility-limited, it's a burden on the community.”
A local FEMA representative said the Janssen issue will not impact the mass vaccination event going on at the Dome at America’s Center on Wednesday April 8.
“We got one delivery of J&J a while ago and we are hopeful that we will receive more soon,” a St. Louis County health department spokesperson said. “We are concerned about the federal supply but have no details as to how this impacts us yet.”
Health officials in the city said they're keeping an eye on the developing situation.
“We do not have J&J, but we are looking to see if the lot numbers we used were impacted,” a St. Louis health department spokesperson said. “We aim to provide a safe and quality vaccination experience to everyone who gets vaccinated during one of our clinics.”
So far, officials in Missouri said they don't know of an immediate impact on the state's supply.
"Thus far it does not appear our allocation for next week (89,600) has been affected," Gov. Mike Parson's spokesperson Kelli Jones said. "We were previously told the J&J would vary widely in the coming weeks but haven't been given any new specifics."
In a statement, J&J officials said the company still expects to vaccinate 100 million Americans by the end of May.