Switching Lem Turner Road Walmart from Modern Vaccine to Pfizer Vaccine Causes Confusion for Some Seniors

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Walmart store on Lem Turner Road in Jacksonville’s Northside will administer the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, according to a statement the company sent to News4Jax on Thursday.

The statement said that as the 12100 Lem Turner Road store switches from Moderna to the Pfizer vaccine, Walmart directs patients to two nearby locations to receive a second dose of Moderna vaccine. These locations are the Walmart store at 6830 Normandy Blvd. and the store at 13227 City Square Drive.

The statement also says Walmart pharmacists are addressing patients who received the first dose at the Lem Turner Road store to schedule their second dose of Moderna vaccine, either at the Normandy Boulevard store or at City Square Drive.

Jacqueline Richardson, a 71-year-old Northside resident, said she and other family members were confused when they learned they would not be able to receive the second dose of Modern COVID-19 vaccine at the location. Walmart on Lem Turner Road.

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“I’m frustrated and I know how to use a computer, but it didn’t make sense to go through all that,” Richardson said.

Richardson said that on February 18, she and other relatives in her age group received the first dose of Moderna vaccine. She said that after receiving the fire, they were instructed to go home and make an online appointment to receive the second dose.

“When I went online to sign up, he said no appointments were available. The next day I checked, he said the same thing. I waited until Monday and I checked and he said the same thing “, Richardson explained.

He called the store and said he spoke to a pharmacy technician who said, “The governor shot the Moderna vaccine and sent them to Pfizer.”

She said the technician she spoke to could not help her and also seemed confused about what to do.

“She said, ‘You can check with River City,'” Richardson said. “I told him I already checked there and he says the same thing online: no appointments are available.”

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Richardson said she contacted the health department and was directed to the Florida vaccine website to look for Walmart locations where she could book an appointment for the second dose of Moderna vaccine.

“So it wasn’t available in Jacksonville,” she said. “The closest to us was in Leon County, which is Tallahassee.”

He later learned that Edwards Waters College was offering the Moderna vaccine. She also learned that she and her relatives should not make an appointment – they just have to show up.

RELATED: Where to Get COVID-19 Vaccines in Northeast Florida

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned people about mixing vaccines, except in “exceptional cases”, because there has not been enough research on the side effects of mixing vaccines.

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Walmart’s corporate office later issued a statement to News4Jax stating:

“The Lem Turner store will administer the Pfizer vaccine to serve even more people in our communities.

“As the Lem Turner store switches from the Moderna vaccine to the Pfizer vaccine, we direct patients to two nearby locations to receive the second dose of Moderna. These locations are our Normandy store (6830 Normandy Jax) and our airport store (13227 City Square Blvd Jax).

Walmart Pharmacists are addressing patients who received their first dose at Lem Turner to schedule their second Modern Vaccination Program at one of the two stores listed above.

Pfizer will be administered at a pop-up vaccination event taking place Thursday through Monday outside Walmart on Lem Turner Road. Eligible patients can schedule an appointment at www.walmart.com/COVIDvaccine.