Tuesday is final day for 1st dose Pfizer shots at Gateway Mall site

Florida’s federally-supported sites able to administer 3,000 doses of J&J COVID-19 vaccine per day

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The federally-supported COVID-19 vaccination site at Gateway Mall will stop giving first doses of the Pfizer vaccine to those 16 and up after Tuesday.

The site will continue giving second doses of the two-shot Pfizer vaccine and will administer doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine through May 25, when the site is currently scheduled to close. The site has the capacity to administer 3,000 doses of the J&J vaccine per day.

Anyone who has received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the site is already scheduled to return to the Gateway Mall in three weeks’ time for their second dose.

The site remains open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, with no appointment necessary and no waiting.

Translation services are provided at the site, along with transportation services from and to your vehicle if needed.

Free parking is available at the site.

The Pfizer vaccine will still be available at state-run vaccination sites like Regency Square Mall, Celebration Church and the Legends Center.

The Associated Press reports the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for youngsters ages 12 to 15 by next week, according to a federal official and a person familiar with the process.

The announcement is set to come a month after the company found that its shot, which is already authorized for those age 16 and older, also provided protection for the younger group.

News4Jax reached out to the Florida Division of Emergency Management to see if it is making plans for when this decision comes down but had not heard back as of Tuesday afternoon.

Late last month, U.S. health officials lifted an 11-day pause on COVID-19 vaccinations using J&J’s shot after scientific advisers decided its benefits outweigh a rare risk of blood clot.


About the Authors:

A Jacksonville native and proud University of North Florida alum, Francine Frazier has been with News4Jax since 2014 after spending nine years at The Florida Times-Union.

Kelly Wiley, an award-winning investigative reporter, joined the News4Jax I-Team in June 2019.