As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes increasingly available, several clinics and pharmacies in the Golden Triangle area are offering the vaccine to eligible residents.
Family Pharmacy No. 1, Family Pharmacy No. 2 and Southern Drugs are a few pharmacies in Columbus currently offering different types of the vaccine. Both Family Pharmacy No. 1 on Lehmberg Road and Southern Drugs on Main Street offer the Moderna vaccine and are about to start administering the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen shot. Family Pharmacy No. 2 on Highway 49 Frontage Road offers the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Those pharmacies will allow walk-in and drive-through patients with no appointment, but they must show they qualify.
“We’ve been seeing a lot of people come in for the vaccine ever since we got it,” pharmacist Min Yung Sung of Family Pharmacy No. 2 said.
While the vaccine is not available to the general public right now, those who do qualify include teachers, first responders, adults ages 50 or older, anyone 16-49 with certain underlying health conditions, long-term care facility residents and staff and health care workers. Sung said the vaccine is gradually becoming available for the public and soon everybody will be able to get it.
“It started at age 65 and now it’s 50,” Sung said. “Eventually, it’ll be everybody.”
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses with the Pfizer vaccines being three to six weeks apart and Moderna four to six weeks apart. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine became available only a few weeks ago, and people have been questioning its efficacy compared to the other two vaccines, Pharmacist Bo Burton of Family Pharmacy No. 1 said. He said he believes any of the three vaccines are effective, but all have their own strengths.
“The other vaccines have a higher efficacy, but the Johnson & Johnson one is the only one that is compared to newer strains,” Burton said. “All of them are good, and any coverage is good coverage.”
The Johnson & Johnson vaccination is the easiest option for some people, Burton said, because they do not have to worry about scheduling an appointment for their second dose. He said he has seen many businesses utilizing this option.
“We got the Johnson & Johnson shot so that if employers want to send their employees up here, they just send them one time and don’t have to worry about everybody being up here again after that 28 days,” Burton said. “It will make it easier on companies.”
The side effects from the vaccines vary by person, he said. Some people may endure headaches, chills, fever or other symptoms, while others may not experience any side effects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has a list of potential side effects for each kind of vaccine.
People can refer to the Mississippi Department of Health website and find out which locations are administering the vaccination in each county. Eligible Mississippi residents can be vaccinated at MSDH drive-through sites and selected clinics and pharmacies.
Burton said he and Family Pharmacy No. 1 are administering this vaccine because they want to bring COVID-19 to an end and believe that anyone who is eligible should get the vaccine.
“It is something that we feel like we need to be doing,” Burton said. “We’re just trying to help the elderly, the first responders, anybody that feels like it will help them feel safe.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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