In the latest chapter of a long-standing partnership with Ralphs Grocery Pharmacy, Chapman University announced April 2 the opportunity for students, faculty and staff to receive a single-shot COVID-19 vaccine on campus April 16. Pharmacists will administer a maximum of 1,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on an appointment-only basis from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Harold Hutton Sports Center.

Faculty and staff will be prioritized in registering for an appointment slot, pending an April 9 email with a sign-up link. Director of Ralphs Pharmacy Linh Lee, who operates all branches of the chain across California, told The Panther that the vaccination site was originally intended exclusively for Chapman faculty and staff. However, the event was opened to students as a result of Californians aged 16 and older becoming eligible for the vaccine April 15. Though the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is only recommended for adults 18 and older, most freshmen students in their second semester meet this age recommendation.

“From the faculty and staff side, a large number have already been vaccinated,” said Jeff Goad, the chair of the Pharmacy Practice department and Chapman’s primary organizer for the vaccination site, in an April 2 interview with The Panther. “So far, of the students … I surveyed, it looks like about 700 are interested in getting vaccinated.”

After having the vaccine administered, recipients will be required to wait for a standard 15 minutes in a designated observation area before leaving the site to observe any apparent side effects. Lee suggested that pharmacists write the time patients leave their station on their vaccination card or individual sticker in order to confirm that this courtesy period is enforced, so as to verify that no one exhibits severe symptoms immediately after receiving their shot.

Meghana Shastri, a junior double major in computer science and economics, received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine a couple weeks ago and told The Panther that their only symptom was a mild fever. They urged students to maximize the opportunity to get vaccinated and to not be deterred by potential side effects or alleged concerns regarding the vaccine’s 72% efficacy rate in the U.S.

“Efficacy rates are something that are misunderstood,” Shastri said. “The Johnson & Johnson trial was done in multiple countries and done at a different time when the pandemic was obviously worse. I think people really need to ignore the so-called efficacy rate, because it’s honestly very misleading and all that matters is that it’s at a good enough rate that it was able to get distributed to the public.”

Even once appointments are fully booked, Lee said Ralphs Pharmacy usually keeps a manual waiting list on hand of other willing vaccine recipients to call in the circumstance that someone misses their time slot, in order to ensure that all doses are used. Extra vaccines are stored inside the store for temperature control, and a runner can be sent to pick them up if needed.

“Our policy is there’s no waste,” Lee said. “We typically expect a certain percentage of no-shows to any of our events, so we actually do bring less vaccines. We do have 1,000 reserved for the event, but we do bring less on campus just in order to maintain the stability of the vaccine in the store.”

Goad and Lee’s relationship dates back over 15 years to performing postdoctoral research together at the University of Southern California. Now, the two work together on the California Pharmacists Association COVID-19 taskforce, and have combined forces over the years to provide other means of vaccination to the Chapman community — such as drive-thru flu shots last fall.

“I was led to Chapman because of Jeff, to be honest with you,” Lee said. “A lot of it was really Dr. Goad and just my admiration for what he does and how he continues to encourage and advocate for pharmacy as part of the healthcare team.”

Currently, the event is slated as a one-day occurrence, but Goad and Lee agreed that there could be future opportunities to vaccinate the Chapman community on campus if there proves to be a persistent need.

“If we see that there’s a need to do more of these and (Ralphs Pharmacy) has more vaccines coming from the federal government, then we could set up another one,” Goad said.

The goal to widely distribute COVID-19 vaccines to California’s young adult population follows President Joe Biden’s March 29 announcement that 90% of the U.S. population is expected to be eligible to receive vaccinations by April 19. The anticipated date comes almost two weeks earlier than the original May 1 target, given that the state has already surpassed the distribution of over 21 million doses.

Lee said the Southern California division of Ralphs Pharmacy, which spans 76 store locations, has “already administered 70,000 COVID-19 doses.”

In addition, metrics have been lessened within California’s color-coded tier system, which calculates a county’s coronavirus transmission risk based on positivity rates, case rates and health equity. Previously, case rates were required to be limited to one per 100,000 Orange County residents in order to transition into the yellow, “minimal” tier, but have since been adjusted to two per 100,000. The county currently lies at three cases per 100,000 residents.

After one more week in the orange, “moderate” tier, Orange County will need to meet the qualifications for the yellow, “minimal” tier for two consecutive weeks in order to make the next leap — though, the county has met some of the new tier’s criteria, like the positivity rate that currently rests at 1.6%. In total, the process will take at least three more weeks. The step would be the second-to-last in the phased reopening of California’s economy, allowing for increased capacity at concert and sporting venues and the reopening of indoor bars.

Goad said the key to safe post-pandemic life may be a “passport” system of proof of vaccination, which will be released by Othena, a virtual vaccine appointment software, within the next couple of weeks. 

“You might see business communities in Orange County (using that); you might see Chapman potentially using that in the future,” Goad said. “I think it’s the passport to restart everything; it’s our only way out of the pandemic.”