Credit Todd Bookman / NHPR
Several New Hampshire jails are postponing COVID-19 vaccination of inmates because of the pause this week on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is preferred among many facilities with transient populations because it requires one shot, rather than the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which require two shots spaced apart by three to four weeks. For individuals in jail for just a few weeks or days who receive the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine, coordinating the second shot on time will likely be up to them.
Dr. Beth Daly, chief of the New Hampshire Bureau of Infections Disease Control, says five county jails had requested Johnson & Johnson vaccines this week. One of them, the Cheshire County Jail in Keene, opted to administer the Moderna vaccine instead. Others say, unless the Johnson & Johnson returns to circulation soon, they’ll also make the switch.