FEMA site will administer Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine starting in April

The Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City will switch to administering the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in April.

On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Convention Center — run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency — began administering only the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. For the next three weeks, the site will administer second doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for eligible individuals with an appointment, but will stop administering first doses. 

The Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine will be distributed for two weeks following the final administration of Pfizer second doses. FEMA announced the switch on Monday.

Vaccines are currently available to residents who qualify under phases 1A and 1B of distribution, which includes healthcare workers, essential workers at high-risk for exposure, people aged 75 and older, and people with high risk medical conditions.

FEMA partnered with the City of Philadelphia to establish the site on March 3. The Pennsylvania Convention Center vaccine site was created to expand vaccinations throughout the Philadelphia region “in an efficient, effective, and equitable manner,” WHYY reported.

In response to racial and geographic disparities in vaccine distribution, the FEMA site began offering walk-up vaccinations last week for residents from underserved neighborhoods, WHYY reported. Walk-up appointments for all residents ended on Monday.

The Pennsylvania Convention Center operates every day from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Eligible city residents interested in receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine must sign up online through an interest form.