Ruthie Mann, infection control officer at Wallowa Memorial Hospital, prepares a syringe with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, March 9, 2021. In the background is Stacey Karvoski, WMH quality director and nurse.

ENTERPRISE — Wallowa County residents now have a second COVID-19 vaccine available to them.

The recently approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine arrived last week at both Wallowa Memorial Hospital and at Safeway in Enterprise, and the retail store already has been putting it to use.

Safeway Pharmacy Manager Nancy Stangel said individuals who come in to get vaccinated at the pharmacy may have an option to get one vaccine or the other so long as both are on hand.

“If I have them both on the day they are signed up for, sometimes they can choose what they (receive),” Stangel said.

There are pros and cons to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the third approved in the U.S. to prevent against COVID-19. The newest vaccine requires only one shot, where both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines necessitate two shots. However, J&J’s vaccine only has anywhere from a 66-80% prevention rate, according to various studies, while the other two are close to 95%.

Stangel said because of the one-shot nature of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, many people are opting for it.

“I’ve had several people who have requested that (vaccine) if we have it — I have them on a list,” she said.

The pharmacy manager did say she currently has more doses of the Moderna vaccine on hand.

Jill McGinnis, Safeway’s director of communications, said in an email last week the chain anticipated, starting March 4, that “at least 200 appointments per pharmacy will be available.”

Wallowa Memorial Hospital will be setting up appointments for the Johnson & Johnson vaccines, according to Brooke Pace, WMH communications director.

The hospital will be opening the phone lines, 541-426-5437, at 8 a.m. on Thursday, March 11, to schedule any eligible person (Phase 1a, Phase 1b groups 1-6) who is interested in receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine,” Pace said in an email Monday. “There is an incredibly limited supply (100 doses) on hand and appointments will be made according to availability. We do not know if or when we will receive additional shipments of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.”

So far, the hospital has vaccinated 1,497 individuals with one dose of the Moderna vaccine, and now 1,007 people have received both doses.

The news of the third vaccine came during the same week Wallowa County had a fifth death attributed to COVID-19, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

The OHA on Thursday morning, March 4, reported the death of a 47-year-old man from the county. The individual died on March 2 at Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, according to the report — more than a month after testing positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 25 — and the man had underlying conditions.

The county also had single cases reported Thursday and Friday, which raised its total since the start of the pandemic a year ago to 144.