Baton Rouge — During the week of Feb. 15, a total of 508 vaccine providers across the state will receive very limited doses of COVID vaccine, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

In a Monday (Feb. 15) morning news release, LDH announced that these providers – including 168 chain pharmacies, 144 independent pharmacies, 55 hospitals, 45 public health providers, 26 medical practices, 21 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), 19 urgent cares, 12 community events, 10 rural health clinics (RHCs), and 8 other healthcare providers – represent all nine public health regions and 64 parishes of the state. 

LDH has published the list of participating providers, along with their locations and contact information, on its website: covidvaccine.la.gov. In addition, residents can call 211 to find a vaccine provider near them.

Future distribution is dependent on vaccine made available to the state, among other factors. To stress, there is no guarantee that providers receiving vaccine this week will receive vaccine in the future.

These vaccines will be available only for the following populations in Phase 1B, Tier 1: 

-Persons 65 and older

-Dialysis providers and patients

-Ambulatory and outpatient providers and staff

-Behavioral health providers and staff

-Urgent care clinic providers and staff

-Community care providers and staff

-Dental providers and staff

-Professional home care providers (including hospice workers) and home care recipients (including older and younger people with disabilities over the age of 16 who receive community or home-based care, as well as clients of home health agencies)

-Interpreters and Support Service Providers (SSPs) working in community and clinic-based settings, and clients who are both deaf and blind

-Health-related support personnel (lab staff, mortuary staff who have contact with corpses, pharmacy staff)

-Schools of allied health students, residents and staff

-Participating providers must make available vaccine available to anyone who is eligible. Failure to do so will inform future decisions about distribution.

Eligible residents must contact a participating provider and make an appointment with them. Officials with LDH are emphasizing the fact that patients who arrive without an appointment will not be vaccinated. In its recent news release, the Department also included a reminder to the public regarding its inability to make appointments for patients; only providers can.

Officials say patients should receive their second doses of the COVID vaccine at the same location where they received their first dose. Second-dose appointments should be made during the administration of the first dose. 

The Louisiana Department of Health 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 concluded its most recent news release with these words: "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."