Sisolak joins grocery workers for COVID vaccine shot
In front of a wall of snacks and stacks of soda, Gov. Steve Sisolak received his COVID-19 vaccine Thursday in a southeast Las Vegas grocery store.
The jab in Sisolak’s left arm came on the anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, and just one day shy of the anniversary of the governor declaring an emergency in Nevada.
Sisolak, who is eligible for the vaccine because of his age and job, received his shot at an Albertsons at Boulder Highway and Tropicana Avenue. He was joined by grocery store workers, who are currently eligible to receive the vaccine.
The governor, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in November, received the single-dose Johnson &Johnson vaccine, developed by the company’s Janssen division.
The Southern Nevada Health District received its first allotment of the vaccine March 5. Those doses were to be distributed to hospitals, “community partner clinics” and health district clinics.
Johnson &Johnson has said its vaccine was 66 percent effective overall at preventing moderate to severe illness, and much more protective — 85 percent — against the most serious symptoms, according to The Associated Press.
The health district has emphasized that the best vaccine to get is the one that is available at the time of an appointment.
I am so excited to receive my COVID-19 vaccine later today alongside frontline grocery store workers. They're some of the workers who have been helping to keep us going this entire pandemic. I am grateful to be able to join them. pic.twitter.com/dbJBlx4c6x
— Governor Sisolak (@GovSisolak) March 11, 2021
Sisolak said officials remain focused on vaccinating people 65 and older.
“It’s extremely important that that vulnerable part of the population, we get in for vaccines,” he said.
On Thursday, hospitality and food service workers in Clark County became eligible to be vaccinated. High-risk residents 55 and older can also receive immunizations at pharmacies statewide starting next week, according to Sisolak spokeswoman Meghin Delaney.
The governor said the next group eligible for the immunization will be people ages 18 to 64 with underlying conditions.
Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.