Back in a room of about two football fields, Mary Francis sat in a wheelchair, her daughter by her side. Ahead, a giant clock ticks away the seconds while Francis waits for her observation period to end. Jazz from a brass band drifted through the air.
Francis, 66, has just received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, a mass vaccination site funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and managed by LCMC Health.
A giant clock marks the wait for people waiting to see if they respond to the coronavirus vaccination at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Thursday, March 4, 2021. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune The New Orleans Advocate)
The conference center, which opened its official opening on Thursday, will deliver 3,500 or more shots a day if supplies are available, said Allison Guste, LCMC Assistant Vice President of Clinical and Operational Excellence.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Johnson & Johnson has doses. Next Monday, Tuesday and Thursday they switch to Pfizer.
Guide people through the coronavirus vaccination at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Thursday, March 4, 2021. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Patients are usually not too picky about the shot. They are just happy to be there.
“It’s totally excitement and relief,” said Guste, a registered nurse who also helped issue shots.
Pfizer and Moderna completed their studies for children 12 years and older.
Francis called the hotline the second it opened Wednesday morning. With 15 grandchildren and six grown children, she was worried. Two of her grandchildren got the coronavirus when a niece, who is a doctor, wound up in a ventilator in the hospital.
“It will protect myself and them,” she said.
Earlier, the vaccine Francis received was drawn up in a syringe behind a black curtain at the back of the center, where a group of pharmacist technicians dished the liquid out of glass vials. The site planned to issue 900 doses on Thursday. By 11 o’clock they were 450.
The vaccine itself takes up a small space in the massive room in a small refrigerator with a clear glass window. A daily dose can fit on one of the four shelves. In total, the refrigerator can contain up to 7,000 doses of Pfizer or about 5,400 doses of Johnson & Johnson.
The Department of Health says single-dose vaccine will be convenient for many people
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can sit at refrigerator temperatures for up to three months, but once a vial is pierced, the five doses contained in it must be administered within two hours. Pfizer’s vaccine, on the other hand, can sit in a syringe for six hours, but only keep it in the fridge for five days.
Even with less than two-thirds of teachers in the area and school support staff indicating the desire to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the demand is still …
People with appointments can park for free in the nearby premises F of Calliope Street. They can also take free shuttle services. The shuttle service from Duncan Plaza runs every 15 minutes. The shuttle buses from West Bank RTA Park and Ride and the New Orleans East Walmart run every 45 minutes.
They are greeted by volunteers who will take their temperature. Patients can log in to one of the 40 iPads or be booked in by one person. Sixty chairs stand in the vaccination area, where patients get the jab.
After receiving the vaccine, people will be sitting in an area on Thursday, March 4, 2021 to see if they respond to the coronavirus vaccination at the Ernest N. Morial Conference Center in New Orleans. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Lawyer)
“It’s comfortable,” said Diane Roy, 63, of the conference center. “It’s convenient. It is nice and clean and not outside. ‘
When they pull out, patients get a yellow face mask with a smile. They also get immunity to the virus, although it will not develop a few weeks after their shots.
Medical Assistant Keona Shepard is stopping the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as she prepares to administer it at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center during the massive coronavirus vaccination on Thursday, March 4, 2021. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Lawyer)
People eligible for the current admission can sign up at lcmchealth.org/vaccine or call 504-290-5200 to register for an appointment.
Emily Woodruff Treats Public Health for The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate as a report for the corps member of America.