OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. — Destiny Denton arrived for her vaccine appointment Tuesday at the Kroger in Olive Branch, saying she’d done her research about the vaccine and was ready to get back to life pre-pandemic.
“I feel a lot better about it. I know they really pushed to get this done,” Denton said. “I feel completely safe with their backing of it now, versus what I did before.”
Millions of people have already received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine as it was available under emergency use authorization. But now that it has the FDA’s stamp of approval, many in the healthcare industry hope this will instill the final push of confidence for those still hesitant.
One pharmacist we talked to said he’s already seeing a huge increase in people getting their shot.
Hunter Hill, pharmacy manager at the Kroger in Olive Branch, said his team has given more than 5,000 vaccines to patients in the community. That number has ticked up as the FDA approval got closer and since the approval just yesterday, he said.
“I think it’s a combination of the FDA approval along with the Delta variant that’s going around, that’s causing a lot of trouble,” Hill said.
Full approval for the Pfizer vaccine by the FDA gives people “another level of confidence” in its safety, he said.
“I’ve had one or two patients, particularly as soon as they come in they say, ‘I’m really excited, this is the moment that I was waiting for,” he said.
For those still uneasy, Denton has this advice:
“I feel like a lot of people, if they do their own research behind it, they’ll feel a lot more comfortable. I think a lot of the apprehension comes from no one has done their own research and we’re all just following the trend of how everyone else feels about it,” she said.
Vaccines available at Kroger
Kroger is offering vaccines at their pharmacy locations in the Memphis area. They ask that you make an appointment ahead of time. You can do that here.