Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics preparing to triple COVID-19 vaccine rollout

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics is preparing to triple their COVID-19 vaccine capacity.

Thursday and Saturday will be the first time healthcare workers will administer the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, known as the Janssen vaccine.

Dr. Susan Lawton is the associate medical director at Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics. She said, “[The Janssen vaccine] is a one-dose. So that’s going to allow us to do more vaccinating of more of our patients.”

Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics is currently vaccinating 160 patients every Saturday. They will add an additional evening clinic on Thursdays at La Cumbre Middle School and an additional Saturday clinic at Direct Relief.

Dr. Charles Fenzi is Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics' chief medical director and CEO. He said, “The more we can get people vaccinated, the better off we’re going to be with this pandemic. So yeah, we’re excited about the fact that we’re going to be doing two next week, two vaccine events. And eventually working to five a week.”

His advice for those still considering which of the three vaccine choices to get, “I think the first [vaccine] available is the best one to do.”

The expansion comes as more vaccine doses are now available including a third FDA-approved vaccine. Dr. Fenzi and Dr. Lawton are assuring their patients the one-dose shot is just as good as the two-dose Pfizer-BioTech and Moderna vaccines.

“It’s an excellent vaccine," said Dr. Lawton. "It has slightly overall protection against COVID. But it has 100% protection against severe disease-causing death.”

Dr. Lawton added that the hardest part now will be filing everyone’s paperwork. And Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics is looking for volunteers to help with that process.

You can visit their website for more information at sbclinics.org.