Comment on Public health officials plan coronavirus vaccines for those facing barriers

Local public health departments, in the midst of targeted outreach to vulnerable populations, say the contamination of millions of coronavirus vaccines should not have an impact on the additional allocation of doses that are anticipated to arrive this week.Both Linn and Johnson county public health departments expect to receive hundreds of doses of the one-shot COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, which officials plan to direct to populations that face barriers to finding and obtaining the vaccine.The first targeted mass vaccination clinic is scheduled for Cedar Rapids this week to reach people of color — who have faced disproportionately high rates of infection and death over the past year.Hosted by the Cedar Rapids NAACP, the clinic aims to vaccinate 100 people using the Johnson & Johnson shot, which was allocated by Linn County Public Health.