SF Mayor London Breed went to a clinic in his native neighborhood, Western Addition, to receive his COVID-19 vaccination today. Breed was one of several public officials who received the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine as part of a public relations campaign by the pharmaceutical company and part of a campaign by health officials to convince the public that it is as good as the other two. vaccines in the prevention of serious diseases.
“I know that some people in our communities have concerns about whether or not they should get a vaccine,” wrote Breed on Twitter. “These vaccines are safe, they are effective and they can save your life.”
A year ago, I told San Francisco that we needed to stay home and save lives.
Today, I am being vaccinated with the new vaccine from Johnson & Johnson to show that all vaccines are safe and effective.
That’s how we ended the pandemic. When it’s your turn, get vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/iypJCvHSf8
– London Breed (@LondonBreed) March 16, 2021
Breed also said that in San Francisco, vaccination for the homeless population is likely to use Johnson & Johnson’s injection, because of the more complicated logistics of getting people back within a specific timeframe for a second dose of the other vaccines. As the Chronicle reports, she said, “It was important for me to make sure that I not only received this vaccine, but, more importantly, that I demonstrate, as the city leader, that it is safe.”
And regarding the Johnson & Johnson and homeless injection, she said, “I want them to be able to say that this is the same injection the mayor got.”
There has been a lot of misinformation circulating about the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – specifically the 66% figure cited in the results of the Phase 3 trial. But this is misleading. The vaccine is 85% effective in preventing severe cases of COVID – and 100% effective in preventing hospitalization and death from COVID. And, as the New York Times reported, the overall efficacy of the Johnson & Johnson injection may be equal to or greater than the efficacy rates of the other two if all three were tested in the real world side by side – something that would not there was time for due to the pandemic emergency.
Breed scheduled his vaccination on the one-year anniversary of the shelter application at the San Francisco location, at the Maxine Hall Health Center. Technically, she has been eligible for a few weeks, as Examiner notes – she qualifies as an emergency services worker who would be part of Phase 1B, which started in the city on February 24.
On Monday, March 15, the state of California extended eligibility to include a list of serious underlying health conditions that could make people vulnerable to severe cases of COVID. In San Francisco, the list of eligible conditions has been expanded and, notably, includes people with less than severe obesity – those with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above, versus the state criterion of BMI greater than 40.
But given that food service workers, teachers, emergency service workers and others have only become eligible in recent weeks and have had trouble finding available vaccine appointments, increased eligibility on Monday has made appointments much more scarce .
Confidence in vaccines has been undermined, especially in some colored communities, which has been a cause for concern across the country, as the vaccine’s launch does not need anything else to slow it down. According to city data, 31% of San Francisco’s population received at least one dose of a vaccine, but in the Western Addition, where Breed was shot, only 3% of the neighborhood received the vaccine.
In encouraging all San Franciscans to get vaccines when they can, Breed said: “You all did your part last year to keep each other safe. Let’s do it again, together.”
Related: More than SF is eligible for vaccine Monday: people with health problems, in homeless shelters, incarcerated