Where can you get the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Beaufort Co.? How to check
Beaufort County’s supply of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine is still extremely limited, but a handful of local providers have started to offer J&J shots, according to state data.
Some people prefer J&J’s product over Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s two-dose vaccines, simply because J&J’s vaccine requires only one trip to the pharmacy.
How can you track down the Lowcountry’s single-dose vaccines? Here are a few options.
You can check the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control’s vaccine locator tool, which identifies local providers that are accepting appointments and displays what vaccine brands they offer. That online information, though, is sometimes outdated: http://bit.ly/VaxLocator
DHEC also publishes spreadsheets every day detailing facility-level J&J vaccine allocations around the state (search for “Beaufort” in the PDFs). You can find those spreadsheets online here: http://bit.ly/VaccineAllocations
If you’re technologically savvy, you can cross-reference DHEC’s spreadsheets with a new state data portal that provides each facility’s daily vaccine inventory.
DHEC has to release the inventory data to comply with legislation that Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law late last month. The online portal can be found here (click on “Inventory View”): http://bit.ly/VaccinatonData
At least five Beaufort County providers had received J&J shipments as of Wednesday, including the Ulmer Family Pharmacy and Wellness Center in Bluffton and a CVS store on Hilton Head Island, according to DHEC’s spreadsheets. Three of the five facilities had unused doses, the state reported. But DHEC’s vaccine locator tool showed that no J&J providers in the county had available appointments as of early Thursday.
When a vaccine provider reports unused doses in its DHEC data, that doesn’t necessarily mean those shots are available. They may be reserved for others. Most providers are still relying on appointment systems to book inoculations, including national pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens.
The DHEC data may steer people in the right direction, but you have to check with each pharmacy to confirm whether you can register for an opening. Contact information for those providers can be found via the state’s vaccine locator or on pharmacy websites.
If you don’t have access to a computer, you can reach out to DHEC’s vaccine call center at 1-866-365-8110. Operators will help you navigate the registration process.
It’ll take a bit of luck to snag a single-dose vaccine in Beaufort County. Appointment availability changes minute to minute. And an expected influx of J&J doses at the end of March is now up in the air.
President Joe Biden’s administration has expressed concern that J&J may miss its production goal of delivering 20 million doses nationwide by the end of the month.
Nick Davidson, DHEC’s senior deputy for public health, on Wednesday confirmed that the federal government had warned DHEC of that possibility.
“We’ve been monitoring that. We’ve been hopeful, certainly, that they do hit it,” Davidson said.
South Carolina expects to receive at least 5,700 J&J doses next week, which is the same amount the state got this week. Davidson stressed that DHEC may be able to order more of the company’s vaccines “mid-cycle” on Sunday or Monday.
Only 71,900 J&J doses had been sent to the Palmetto State as of Wednesday, according to state data. More than 2.3 million Pfizer and Moderna doses had been received.
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 11:59 AM.
