Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D) is defending his decision to reject a Johnson & Johnson vaccine shipment, saying at a press conference Thursday that Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines are better and he wants Detroit residents to “get the best”.
Duggan 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 that this week the city received 29,000 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which he said was enough to vaccinate all residents who have so far been able to receive the vaccine and want one.
According the city health department, residents aged 50 and over with an underlying medical condition, manufacturing employees, school employees and others identified in high priority groups are currently eligible for a coronavirus vaccination.
“Therefore, Johnson & Johnson is a very good vaccine. Moderna and Pfizer are the best, ”said Duggan on Thursday. “And I will do everything I can to ensure that Detroit city residents have the best.”
Clinical trials of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have shown that they are about 95 percent effective in preventing moderate to severe cases of COVID-19 after two doses administered weeks apart.
Meanwhile, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one dose, has been shown to be approximately 72 percent effective.
“At this point, everyone in the city of Detroit who is eligible, who wants a vaccine, can get it,” said Duggan. “The day may come in March or April, when all Moderna and Pfizer are committed, and we still have people who need a vaccine. And at that point, we’ll set up a Johnson & Johnson center. ”
The mayor added, however, that he does not see this scenario happening “in the coming 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.
Bob Wheaton, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement to CNN Friday that the more than 6,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson not used by Detroit were “provided to other health departments that had lower coverage rates for people aged 65 and over.”
According to the Detroit COVID-19 panel, more than 101,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the city so far, with more than 55,000 future doses already scheduled.