BATON ROUGE- The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) announced Monday (March 22) that 652 vaccine providers across the state will receive very limited doses of COVID vaccine.

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

The full breakdown is as follows:

-251 chain pharmacies (including 116 Walmarts, 7 Sam's Club, 75 CVS, and 21 Winn Dixie from retail pharmacy program)

-158 independent pharmacies

-61 hospitals

-45 public health providers

-39 urgent cares

-37 medical practices

-29 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs)

-11 rural health clinics (RHCs)

-21 other healthcare providers

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. 

Residents can call 211 to find a vaccine provider or event near them.

Future distribution is dependent on vaccine made available to the state, among other factors.

Participating providers must give available vaccine doses to anyone who is eligible. Failure to do so will affect whether the provider receives future allocations of the vaccine.

Eligible residents must contact a participating provider to make an appointment. Patients who arrive without an appointment will not be vaccinated. LDH cannot make appointments for patients; only providers can.

Patients receiving Moderna or Pfizer vaccines will receive their second dose of the COVID vaccine at the same location they received their first dose.

Second-dose appointments should be made during the administration of the first dose. If residents missed their second dose vaccination appointment they should immediately contact the provider of their first dose to schedule a new appointment.

If a patient has received the Moderna vaccine, ideally their second shot should be given 28 days after their first one. If they get the Pfizer vaccine, the second dose should be given 21 days after the first. According to the CDC, a patient can safely receive the second dose up to 42 days and likely longer after the first dose if need be.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is given in one dose, and like the other two vaccines is 100% effective at preventing hospitalization and death from COVID.

LDH is coordinating the COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort in Louisiana.

As more vaccines become available from the CDC, more individuals and groups will be offered a vaccination.

LDH says, "We want everyone to have the opportunity to get vaccinated against COVID. We are confident that COVID-19 vaccines will be a critical tool in ultimately ending the pandemic."

With the latest expansion of eligibility, many, if not most, Louisiana residents are eligible. 

Click here for additional information on the state's COVID-19 vaccine rollout.