NYC Taking J&J Vaccine Pause In Stride, De Blasio Says

NEW YORK CITY — A pause on the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine won't significantly set New York City's inoculation effort back, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

"It's clearly slowed us down a little bit but not much," he said Thursday.

New York City stopped using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week after federal officials raised concerns about rare blood clots in six women — out of nearly 7 million doses administered — who received shots.

FDA and CDC officials emphasized it was purely out of an abundance of caution to give health providers a chance to be aware of an extraordinarily small risk. On Thursday, CDC officials said they could need another week to gauge risk factors.

De Blasio said the city is largely taking the pause in stride. The vaccine was never as widely available as those developed by Pfizer and Moderna, he said.

About 234,000 New Yorkers across the city have so far received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, out of nearly 5.4 million total doses of coronavirus vaccine.

"I think in truth we have never gotten used to having a J&J supply, so the absence of it does not feel that different yet," de Blasio said.

But de Blasio noted the pause is most problematic for the city's program to vaccinate homebound seniors. The one-dose vaccine proved particularly suitable for that vulnerable population, he said.

City Council Member Mark Treyger, whose recent bill on homebound senior vaccinations is now law, argued in a statement that the city needs to make up for the loss.

"Other cities nationwide have established plans without interference vaccinating vulnerable seniors, including the City of Detroit providing and delivering its homebound seniors with the Moderna vaccine proving that it is possible, while our city administration continues to state that there are challenges," he said.

Dave Chokshi, the city's health commissioner, said health officials have been able to replace J&J doses largely with Moderna supply.

He also noted the city's supply of doses overall will go up by 10,ooo or more in coming weeks.