NYC Will ‘Immediately’ Resume Use Of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

NEW YORK CITY — A pause on the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine will end “immediately” in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

De Blasio’s announced Saturday that city-run vaccination sites will resume of the one-dose J&J vaccine after a week-long break.

The restart was prompted by a FDA and CDC decision to lift a federal pause on the vaccine while experts reviewed rare cases of blood clots in a handful of J&J recipients.

“The one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine is back and New York City will immediately resume our innovative mobile, pop-up, and homebound vaccination programs with this shot,” de Blasio said in a statement. “I received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine along with our Health Commissioner Dr. Chokshi. We know firsthand that the vaccine is safe and effective, and now it’s easier than ever to get your shot.”

Federal officials recommended the pause out of “an abundance of caution” as they investigated the blood clot cases. They eventually found only 15 cases — including three deaths — out of nearly 8 million doses administered, the New York Times reported.

Experts decided the vaccine’s benefits are far greater than the risks, the Times reported.

The city’s use of the J&J vaccine was never as widespread as the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. But, still, the pause was a blow to the city’s effort to vaccinate homebound seniors with the “one and done” J&J vaccine — health officials temporarily shifted to the Moderna vaccine.

The door-to-door homebound senior effort, along with mobile vaccine buses and vans and pop-up sites, will restart using the J&J vaccine, officials said.

“The joint CDC and FDA recommendation to resume the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine with an updated warning shows that our safety system works,” Chokshi, the city’s health commissioner, said. “I received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and I trust it is safe and effective. If I had the chance to decide again, knowing what I know now, I would still choose to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.”

State-run sites such as Javits Center and Yankee Stadium also will resume use of J&J vaccine, officials said.

"The state of New York will resume administration of this vaccine at all of our state-run sites effective immediately," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. "The vaccine is the weapon that will win the war against COVID and allow everyone to resume normalcy, and we have three proven vaccines at our disposal. I urge every New Yorker to take whichever one is available to them first."