WASHINGTON -- In alignment with the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, FEMA is pausing administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at our pilot community vaccination centers and mobile vaccination units. We are working with our state partners to determine the path forward and find alternative vaccine options for these sites.
FEMA continues working with state governments to open additional federal pilot community vaccination centers, which include federal support and supplemental vaccine allocations:
- Today, centers are scheduled to open in Pueblo, Colorado, St. Paul, Minnesota and Columbia, South Carolina.
- Later this week, a center will open in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
FEMA mobile vaccination units have begun operations. These vehicles can bring vaccinations to hard-to-reach and high-risk populations who cannot access services from fixed sites.
FEMA began processing applications for funeral assistance on April 12 and as of this morning has received more than 56,000 funeral assistance applications. The agency is providing financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses that occured after Jan. 20, 2020 and going forward.
On the first day of application processing, the call center received more than 1 million calls, which caused some technical issues. Some applicants reached operators, while others received a busy signal. We ask that applicants be patient as we work to correct these issues and have all their important documents ready when they call to apply. Please know there is no deadline to apply and applicants will have the ability to open a case. We will not rush through calls because we intend to make sure that every applicant gets their questions answered and receives the help they need to apply.
Applicants may apply by calling 844-684-6333 (TTY: 800-462-7585) from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. Multilingual services are available.