Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D) defends decision to reject Johnson & Johnson vaccine shipment, saying in a press conference On Thursday, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are better, and he wants Detroit residents to “get the best.”
Duggan had refused 6,200 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which last weekend became the third approved for emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The mayor said this week the city received 29,000 Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccinations, which he said are enough to vaccinate every resident who is eligible so far to receive the vaccine and wants it.
Conformable the city’s health department, residents over the age of 50 with a basic medical condition, producers’ employees, school staff and others identified in high-priority groups are currently eligible for coronavirus vaccination.
“So Johnson & Johnson is a very good vaccine. Moderna and Pfizer are the best, “Duggan said Thursday. “And I’m going to do everything I can to make sure Detroit residents get the best of it.”
Clinical trials of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have shown that they are approximately 95% effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 after two doses given a few weeks apart.
Meanwhile, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only a single dose, has been shown to be approximately 72% effective.
“Right now, anyone in the city of Detroit who is eligible who wants a vaccine can get one,” Duggan said. “The day may come in March or April, when each Moderna and Pfizer are employed and we still have people who need a vaccine. And at that time we will set up a Johnson & Johnson center. ”
The mayor added, however, that he does not see this scenario happening “in the next few weeks”.
Public health experts have repeatedly promoted the safety and efficacy of each of the FDA-approved vaccines, encouraging people to receive whatever is available to them.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Bob Wheaton he said in a statement to CNN On Friday, Detroit’s more than 6,000 unused Johnson & Johnson doses were “provided to other health departments that have lower coverage rates for those 65 and older.”
According to the Detroit Dashboard COVID-19, more than 101,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the city so far, with more than 55,000 future doses already scheduled.