In the back of a room about the size of two football fields, Mary Francis was sitting in a wheelchair with her daughter beside her. Before, a huge clock ticked for a few seconds, while Francis waited for the observation period to end. The brass band’s jazz was floating in the air.
Francis, 66, had 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 administered by LCMC Health.
A huge clock ticks the waiting time for people waiting to see if they have a reaction to coronavirus vaccination at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Thursday, March 4, 2021. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
The convention center, which marked its official opening on Thursday, will deliver 3,500 or more photos a day if supplies are available, said Allison Guste, LCMC’s vice president of clinical and operational excellence.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the site has Johnson & Johnson doses. On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday next week, they will move to Pfizer.
Guiding people through coronavirus vaccination at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Thursday, March 4, 2021. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
For the most part, patients are not too picky about the shot. They’re just happy to be there.
“It’s an excitement and a relief,” said Guste, a registered nurse who also helped take photos.
Pfizer and Moderna have completed enrollment in studies for children aged 12 and over.
Francis called the helpline at the second opening on Wednesday morning. With 15 grandchildren and six adult children, she was worried. Two of her grandchildren received the coronavirus, then a niece, who is a doctor, arrived at a ventilator in the hospital.
“It will protect me and them,” she said.
Earlier, Francis received the vaccine in a syringe behind a black curtain at the back of the center, where a group of pharmacists distributed the liquid from glass bottles. The site planned to distribute 900 doses on Thursday. By 11 a.m., they were through 450.
The vaccine itself takes up little space in the massive room, in a small mini-fridge with a clear glass window. Doses worth a few days can fit on one of the four shelves. In total, the small refrigerator could hold up to 7,000 doses of Pfizer or around 5,400 doses of Johnson & Johnson.
The health department says the single-dose vaccine will be convenient for many people
Johnson & Johnson vaccine can stay in the refrigerator for up to three months, but once a vial is perforated, the five doses it contains must be given within two hours. The Pfizer vaccine, on the other hand, can stay in a syringe for six hours, but can only be kept in the refrigerator for five days.
Even with less than two-thirds of teachers in the area and school support staff indicating a desire to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine, the demand is still …
People with appointments can park for free in lot F near Calliope Street. I can also take free shuttles. The Duncan Plaza shuttle runs every 15 minutes. Shuttles from West Bank RTA Park and Ride and New Orleans East Walmart run every 45 minutes.
They are greeted by volunteers who will take their temperature. Patients can register on one of the 40 iPads or they can be registered by one person. Sixty chairs are lined up in the vaccination area, where patients receive jab.
After receiving the vaccine, people stay in an area to see if they have a reaction to coronavirus vaccination at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Thursday, March 4, 2021. (Photo by Chris Granger | The-Times -Picayune | The Lawyer of New Orleans)
“It’s comfortable,” said Diane Roy, 63, of the Convention Center. “It simply came to our notice then. It’s nice and clean and not out. ”
At the exit, patients receive a yellow face mask decorated with a smile. They also receive immunity to the virus, although it will not develop for several weeks after receiving the shots.
Nurse Keona Shepard supports Johnson & Johnson vaccine as she prepares to administer it at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans during mass coronavirus vaccination on Thursday, March 4, 2021. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune (New Orleans Attorney)
Individuals who meet current eligibility can register at lcmchealth.org/vaccine or call 504-290-5200 to register for an appointment.
Emily Woodruff covers public health for The Times-Picayune | New Orleans attorney as a member of the Report for America body.