(Photo by Zachary Meseck)

NORWICH – With COVID-19 vaccines becoming more available throughout New York State, the Chenango County Department of Health along with numerous healthcare workers were able to administer nearly 200 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine on Thursday.

According to Chenango County Public Health Preparedness Coordinator Ellen Cohan, this clinic was one of many that the Department of Health has been able to host, and they have been regularly training for a situation like this for years.

“Every year the state requires us to drill various parts of the disaster plan, and this was the first year we were actually able to get people and actually do it the way we’ve been planning it,” said Cohan. “These are all public health staff, and they don’t waste any time getting people through.”

“We try to do it as efficiently as possible, and the single dose method helps with that.”

Cohan said 190 individuals were scheduled to receive the Janssen vaccine on Thursday, and officials hoped that the single dose method would help attract individuals who were less interested in getting two doses.

She said next week the clinic won’t be able to use the Janssen vaccine due to limited supply, and they will swap back to the Moderna vaccine.