DENVER (KKTV) – Due to a national shortage of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine and possible adverse reactions, Centura Health announced on Friday night that more than 20,000 people who will receive the J&J shot this weekend will plan to the Pfizer shot rather get on several. transit clinics.
The announcement took place Friday night and features an appointment for people through one of the three drive-in mass centers at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs and the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo.
11 News spoke to Centura Health CEO Peter Banko shortly after the announcement. The decision came after a day of discussion between the Centura Health clinical team and representatives of the state of Colorado. Banko said the incident Wednesday where 11 people had adverse reactions to the J&J vaccine at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park played a role in their decision.
The J&J doses will remain in refrigerators as Centura Health uses them in outpatient care facilities, including medical clinics in Colorado.
“No doses are going to be wasted,” Banko explained. “We will administer it in different places.”
Banko added that anyone who still wants the J&J vaccine can work with Centura Health to get it at a different location than one of the major vaccination stations.
“I just want to explain, there is a difference between sitting in the front seat of your car or sitting on an exam table in a doctor’s office,” Banko added. “Modern, Pfizer, J&J are safe and effective, we’re just making a few adjustments to ensure safety.”
Banko says Centura Health is waiting for more guidance from the CDC and FDA to decide whether to bring back J&J as an option for the mass vaccine.
Click here to get an appointment at Centura Health on one of the three sites.
The full release of Centura Health, sent on 4/9/21, is below:
Centura Health is offering the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines only during three consecutive vaccination events, starting Saturday, April 10th. The three are Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs and Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo.
The Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine remains extremely safe and effective. We made this decision due to the national shortage of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine and the adverse reactions to the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine during our community vaccination event at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Wednesday, April 7 (adverse reactions was 0.62% of those vaccinated on April 7). We will continue to administer the vaccine Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) in our outpatient care and medical clinics.
“During the pandemic, we remained flexible and agile, always ready to adapt our processes and systems rooted in our commitment to Safety First, People Always,” said Peter D. Banko, President and CEO of Centura Health, . “I applaud and support our incredible caregivers at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park for their courage in seeing something, saying something and stopping the queue.”
The 24,400 patients who will currently receive the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine at one of our three all-in-clinic vaccinations between 10 and 14 April will have the same appointment, the same date and the same place, and will receive the Pfizer. dose a vaccine. This change will be automatically applied to all registered individuals and appointments will be considered confirmed. Pfizer Dose two appointments are automatically scheduled on the corresponding day 21, at the same time and place as your first dose appointment. Affected patients will receive an email, SMS or both based on the information they provided during registration. If registered patients are unable to attend their appointment or need to reschedule, they can call 855-882-8065. Telephone line is open daily from 07:00 to 20:00.
“Right now, our priority is to look after our neighbors who are currently scheduled to ensure they can be vaccinated,” said Shauna Gulley, MD, senior vice president and clinical chief. “We appreciate your patience as we make this transition. We remain committed to vaccinating all residents of Colorado and Western Kansas as soon as possible. ‘
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