JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The goal of the Gateway vaccination site is to get as many people in the community vaccinated as possible. To speed up the process, they are expecting 3,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson starting Tuesday.
On Monday, the state is expanding the vaccination age to 16 and older. FEMA Spokesperson Kimber Kipp said she could not be more excited.
“Our number one goal is to get vaccines in arms and having the eligibility criteria drop to 18 years of age and older is fantastic that’s what were here to do," said Kipp.
At the Gateway vaccine location on Monday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. they will have the Pfizer vaccine available. However, on Tuesday, they will switch to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“Along with that, we will also be administering the second dose of the Pfizer vaccination," said Kipp.
Kipp explained the reason for the change in the vaccine is because the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose.
“The faster we can get people vaccinated, especially with the Johnson & Johnson shot, the faster we can get our lives back to normal," said Brandi Bates of the Florida Department of Emergency Management.
Last week, Johnson & Johnson's manufacturers said that a batch of their doses did not meet quality standard and could not be used. Kipp said that incident will not affect their shipment.
Gateway has the capacity to vaccinate 3,000 people daily, according to Bates.
“Cool thing about the Gateway site is that it’s designed to designed to scale up and accommodate an increase of people getting the vaccine," Bates explained.
Bates says she has seen some people hesitant on getting the vaccine so she wants to encourage people to bring someone with them while getting their shot.