NYC Vaccination Effort Acknowledges J & J Setback, Forges Ahead

By Yehudit Garmaise

    Mayor Bill de Blasio, who will not be deterred in the city's vaccination efforts, acknowledged yesterday’s news that the US Centers for Disease Control recommended “out of an abundance of caution” that use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine temporarily be paused after six women, one of whom died, suffered from blood clots from being given the one-shot vaccine.

   “Let’s be blunt: yesterday we were thrown a curve ball: the news about Johnson & Johnson,” said the mayor, who added that New York City has vaccinated 500,000 New Yorkers in more than 600 vaccination sites, “[but], our job is to hit that ball out of the park, anyway, just keep going, keep moving forward.”

  “For New Yorkers like me and like the mayor,” said Dave A. Chokshi, MD, New York City’s health commissioner, “who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, I do want to assure you that it is extremely unlikely you will experience anything like the adverse events that have been reported.

   Vaccines are life-saving, and hospitalization rates worldwide have decreased as vaccination rates have increased, explained Dr. Chokshi, who also pointed out that vaccines usually carry a very small risk of side effects.

   “But it is also important to keep in mind the other side of the equation: to remember that authorized vaccines protect us from diseases that threaten us so much more,” Dr. Chokshi said. “[Without the vaccine,] this virus has shown us time and again, just how deadly it can be.”

   If you do experience [blood clot] symptoms, like severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of pain within three weeks of having received the Johnson & Johnson vaccination, please call your doctor, said Dr. Chokshi.

   “Adverse advents are reported to a national data base precisely so that we can monitor for patterns that call for greater study, which is what the federal government is doing right now,” explained Dr. Chokshi.

     Meanwhile, most New Yorkers who booked appointments for the J & J vaccine will keep their appointments and receive the vaccines that were made by Pfizer or Moderna.

   “We had to reschedule about 4,000 people yesterday,” Dr. Chokshi pointed out. “Those New Yorkers received messages about new appointments for later this week.

    In addition, the city's homebound program is suspended through this Sunday.

   "We are currently working on rescheduling appointments,,” Dr. Chokshi said, "and helping to arrange transport to nearby vaccine sites by taxis or by ambulettes, where that is possible."

Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.