Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine Could ‘Supercharge’ NYC: Mayor

NEW YORK CITY — New York City has high hopes for the as-yet-unapproved third coronavirus vaccine.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday reiterated that a Johnson & Johnson-developed COVID-19 vaccine could be a game changer for the city’s flagging vaccination effort.

The drug maker applied for emergency FDA authorization and its doctors planned to testify Tuesday that the company could produce 20 million doses by the end of March, Politico reported.

“I think this is what will supercharge our effort,” de Blasio said.

The city’s vaccination effort has been hampered by supply shortfalls of COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna. Those vaccines also require two doses for full effectiveness — a frustration for de Blasio who has watched doses get set aside for future second shots.

The meager supply was compounded last week when winter weather delayed vaccine shipments, causing a “lost” week for the city’s vaccination effort.

So far, the city has doled out roughly 1.5 million doses and hopes to get 5 million New Yorkers fully vaccinated by June.

De Blasio said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s single dose and easier refrigeration standards could transform the city’s efforts. He has already announced the city will use the single-dose vaccine for home bound seniors.

But the high expectations and grand plans still depend on federal approval. Jay Varma, the city’s senior health adviser, said it would be “great news” if the FDA’s independent analysis confirms the single-dose vaccine’s effectiveness at averting hospitalizations and deaths.

“And then the next big challenge becomes the one that we've been talking about all the time, which is supply, and of course we're kind of at the whims of what the federal government is able to allocate to New York City specifically, as well as of course what the manufacturers can actually produce themselves,” he said.