On-campus vaccination clinic switches from Johnson & Johnson to Pfizer

Following a federal recommendation to halt distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Ralphs Grocery Pharmacy administered Pfizer vaccines to students April 16. CLARISSE GUEVARRA, Staff Photographer

Chapman University first announced plans April 2 to host a vaccination site at the Harold Hutton Sports Center, intending to distribute a maximum of 1,000 one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccines to the Chapman community April 16. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a pause in the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine April 13 due to reports of rare blood-clotting. 

As such, Ralphs Grocery Pharmacy, which managed the event, temporarily halted appointment scheduling April 13, following reports of complications with the vaccine. Out of an abundance of caution, the pharmacy instead distributed the Pfizer vaccine at the April 16 vaccine site and the event continued as planned through a priority appointment process, giving first access to faculty and staff, then students. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will reconvene April 21 to officially decide its Johnson & Johnson vaccine recommendations.

Alexis Triepke, a junior communication studies major, told The Panther she wanted the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of the convenience of only needing a single dose. The Panther surveyed 65 people and found that 49% of respondents felt comfortable keeping their appointment if Chapman couldn’t secure an alternative to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, while 51% said the opposite.

“My mom did not want me taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” said Brenda Lai, a freshman public relations and advertising major who received the Pfizer vaccine on campus. “We also have to consider that Californians ages 16 and older are eligible for the vaccine, and it is easier for us to get it anywhere now. There were other options than just Chapman.”

Students living locally were grateful for the newfound accessibility of vaccine distribution, given that the event was only a day after the April 15 marker for mass eligibility in California. 

“I have been waiting a while to be eligible for the vaccine, considering that I am very low priority,” said Allison Merrell, a senior business administration major. “I’m unemployed, I’m a student and I don’t have health risks. For students that really wanted the vaccine but weren’t eligible before, Chapman’s vaccine site was a really good opportunity.”

Although the pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine may be alarming to some, others promote getting any three of the vaccines in order to build immunity and reduce community health risks.

“A lot of my concerns were concerns you can have, but they don’t keep me from getting the vaccine,” said Vanessa Cox, a freshman animation major who received the Pfizer vaccine. “There will be side effects that we’re just going to have to get through, but it’s not worth not getting the vaccine.”