Detroit Mayor rejected Johnson & Johnson vaccines for his city, telling the feds that the shots are simply not as good as the versions of Moderna and Pfizer – which led to a reprimand from Dr. Anthony Fauci on Friday .
“We need to get rid of this issue of comparing each other, except to say that we have a highly effective group of three vaccines,” said Fauci when asked about Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s reported decision to reject more than 6,000 Johnson & Johnson products. take doses this week.
“In the important area of disease prevention that leads to hospitalization and death, [the Johnson & Johnson vaccine] it’s virtually 100%, ”he insisted on a press conference at the White House. “I would simply get the vaccine that is most available.”
His comments came after Duggan refused to receive 6,200 doses of Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved single-dose jabs for the city, a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services public information officer told Crain’s Detroit.
Instead, doses were sent to “other health departments that had lower coverage rates for people aged 65 and over,” said the official.
Later, Duggan appeared to double his decision on Thursday, saying, “Johnson & Johnson is a very good vaccine. Moderna and Pfizer are the best … And I will do everything I can to ensure that Detroit city residents have the best. “
The efficacy rates of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are approximately 94% after the second dose, according to the companies.
In contrast, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approximately 66 percent effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19.
But at the same press conference with Fauci on Friday, Andy Slavitt, senior White House adviser to the COVID-19 Response Team, suggested that the Detroit Mayor’s comments were misinterpreted.
“The mayor’s office indicated, after talking to them, that this was a misunderstanding. That was not the intention of these observations, ”said Slavitt.
“We have had a constant dialogue with Mayor Duggan, who said, in fact, it was not what he said and / or, however, it was reported,” said government advisor Biden, according to the Detroit Free Press. “In fact, he is very much looking forward to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. And I think we would reiterate the message that, for all of us, the first vaccine we have the opportunity to get makes perfect sense. “