J&J Vaccine To Restart In Chester County At 2 New Sites

EXTON, PA — The Exton Square Mall's former Sears store is one of two new sites where Chester County's health department will be administering the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine as it restarts the J&J rollout Tuesday.

Following the announcement by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP) to resume the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Chester County will be opening appointments for two new large vaccine clinic sites that will administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the health department announced Monday afternoon.

One vaccine clinic site is the former Sears store at the Exton Square Mall. It will open April 27. Its hours will be Tuesday through Friday 12-8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A second new site will be drive-thru style, in the overflow parking area of Longwood Gardens. That sit will open on April 29. Its hours will be Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Chester County said that combined, these sites will have the capacity to administer 2,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine per day.

As of April 23, 60 percent of everyone in Chester County who is eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine has been partially or fully vaccinated, the health department reported. That 60 percent represents 251,351 Chesco residents who are at least partially vaccinated. The health department reported on Friday that 130,285 county residents were fully vaccinated.

"We know that Chester County residents care about their health and the health of those around them. It is why we have been ranked as one of the healthiest counties in the state — and even the nation — for many years," the county health department said in a public statement.

"The weapons that we have to fight COVID-19 are strongest when used together, and vaccination, by far is the most essential of all the weapons. Our federal and state experts have reviewed and determined that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe to use, and we ask everyone who is eligible, to be vaccinated as soon as possible, using any of the three vaccines available," the statement said.

The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are available at clinics in West Chester, Kimberton, Jennersville, Coatesville, the health department said.