BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) issued a Monday, May 10 news release stating that during the second week in May a total of 1,492 vaccine providers across the state would have available doses of COVID vaccine.

These providers include national and independent pharmacies, public health providers, clinics and physician offices, hospitals and others, LDH said. 

LDH has published the list of participating providers, along with their locations and contact information, on its website: covidvaccine.la.gov.

In addition to these providers, community vaccination events are taking place across the state and are also listed on LDH’s website. 

The organization says residents requiring assistance can call the Bring Back Louisiana COVID-19 vaccine hotline at 1-855-453-0774 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

The hotline will help residents schedule vaccine appointments and homebound vaccinations, find vaccine providers in their area and connect people with medical professionals who can answer vaccine-related questions.

Those with general COVID-19 questions are advised to dial 211 for assistance.

In the news release, LDH reminded citizens that Louisiana residents ages 16 and older are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

LDH also said that eligible residents must contact a participating provider to make an appointment as patients who arrive without an appointment will not be vaccinated. 

The Department added that patients receiving Moderna or Pfizer vaccines will receive their second dose of the COVID vaccine at the same location they received their first dose.

It went on to say that second-dose appointments should be made during the administration of the first dose.

According to LDH, if patients missed their second dose vaccination appointment they should immediately contact the provider of their first dose to schedule a new appointment.

The organization said, "If you have received the Moderna vaccine, ideally your second shot should be given 28 days after your first one. If you get the Pfizer vaccine, the second dose should be given 21 days after the first. According to the CDC, you can safely receive the second dose up to 42 days and likely longer after the first dose if need be."

For more information on vaccine distribution and administration in Louisiana, visit the Department of Health's website here.