ORLANDO, Fla. – It may be tougher to find Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose coronavirus vaccine in Florida.
On Monday, Orange County officials announced that one of its largest coronavirus vaccination sites will no longer provide the shots due to the inability to resupply.
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Coronavirus vaccination operations were revived at Camping World Stadium on Aug. 10, with efforts being led and organized by the county. The site would provide shots of Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer’s vaccine seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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However, not even a week after vaccination operations returned to Camping World Stadium, county officials said the site will no longer provide shots of Johnson & Johnson.
When asked why, Dr. Raul Pino with Orange County Florida Department of Health said it’s because the state won’t supply more doses.
“At this point, we have no ability to order Johnson & Johnson,” he said during the county’s coronavirus briefing, adding the state is taking a ‘we have what we have’ approach.
“That will change, I believe,” Pino said. He did not provide information on when that could be.
Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke at Camping World Stadium later on Monday afternoon and addressed the lack of the vaccine.
“No sites are getting them now because we have not gotten a shipment from the federal government since May 2,” he said at the vaccine site. “So they’ve been farmed out as needed, but we’re now at the point where the stockpile is depleted.”
The governor, who has been a public supporter of Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine, said if supply becomes available Florida will try to snag some of it.
“I personally, for these types of sites you know, I like J&J (because) you just go through once. That’s what I got many months ago and I think that’s a good option,” he said. “We obviously want to provide it for all these different sites.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps track of COVID-19 vaccine allocations by state. According to its data on Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine distribution, Florida last received 37,000 doses on May 10.
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