Vaccine Appointment Booking Provides Choice of Shot to Citizens

Mr. and Mrs. Kaler were happy when they reached the end of the vaccine appointment booking process. They discovered that they were getting the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which they wanted. Curt Kaler said, “For us, not having to commute a second time was a bonus.” The vaccine appointment was a three-hour trip from their home to a Walmart pharmacy in Marshall.

As President Biden recently pledged to make all U.S. adults eligible for the vaccine by May 1st, even other Minnesotans are starting to shop more selectively. Public health advises that people should get whatever vaccine is first available to them. Some of the vaccine appointment seekers are using online tools like vaccinespotter.org to locate a particular brand of vaccine.

The Dakota County vaccine page and some other public sites also list the availability according to the brand. The infectious disease director Kris Ehresmann of Minnesota acknowledged value in someone obtaining the specific shot they want. He said that it is okay even if it takes a few days extra.

Kris said in an interview, “The public health goal is that every person who can possibly get a vaccine gets it at the first second they possibly can. But it’s not just a numbers game. People need to feel comfortable about the vaccine they are receiving.”

In some cases, as Sheila Ehrich said, her doctor suggested taking the Moderna vaccine as it has a slight difference in the clinical data for a complication called Bell’s palsy. She had experienced this after a past vaccine during a stressful time.