City Restarts Homebound Senior COVID Vaccinations With Moderna

NEW YORK CITY — An ambitious door-to-door effort to vaccinate New York City's homebound seniors against the coronavirus is back up amid a temporary pause in using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that health officials had restarted the campaign — which aims to vaccinate up to 23,000 seniors in their homes — with the two-dose Moderna vaccine.

But he said a final judgment on whether the campaign will finish with Moderna or the J&J vaccine, as intended, depends on federal officials' decision expected this week on the J&J vaccine.

"We expect resolution soon," he said. "The most likely resolution is some restrictions or limits on who gets Johnson & Johnson, but still allowing for plenty of people to be able to receive it safely. In that instance, the best thing to do will be to go back to Johnson & Johnson for the homebound because it's by far the more usable option and better option for homebound folks — it's one shot and done."

FDA and CDC officials last week recommended a precautionary pause in using the J&J vaccine as they investigate six reported cases — out of nearly 7 million doses — of rare and severe blood clots.

The pause created a hiccup in the city's vaccination effort. Most doses distributed in the five boroughs have been the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, but officials leaned heavily on the one-shot J&J vaccine to inoculate hard-to-reach or vulnerable groups.

The highest-profile effort with the J&J vaccine involved reaching the city's homebound seniors. The door-to-door effort was halted last week as officials grappled with the pause.

And it appeared to be in limbo until Monday, when Council Member Mark Levine tweeted that it had restarted with Moderna.

Good news: NYC to resume in-home vaccination for the homebound. This was stopped due to J&J pause, but now will be done w/ Moderna.

Sign-up at https://t.co/5QUbSD3OqT or 877-VAX-4-NYC.
— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) April 19, 2021

De Blasio, in response to a Patch reporter's question, officially confirmed the program had restarted Tuesday.

Several providers in the homebound program had started using Moderna as they gained experience with the vaccine's storage and handling requirements, Dave Chokshi, the city's health commissioner, said.

The J&J vaccine still provides advantages given that it's one dose and easier to store and handle, Chokshi said.

De Blasio said seniors who get the Moderna vaccine also need to get a second dose later.