Detroit’s Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Headed to Other Counties in Michigan After Mayor Duggan Initially Declines Offer
Duggan reverses stance but says he still prefers the more effective Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which have a 95% effectiveness compared to Johnson’s 72%.
As Michigan receives more than 82,000 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson treatment this week, 6,200 of those doses that would’ve gone to Detroit are now headed to other parts of the state after Mayor Mike Duggan initially declined the latest vaccine approved to fight the coronavirus.
According to a spokesperson with the state health department, those treatments are now going to other counties. Duggan said the city has enough vaccines right now, centering its efforts at a drive-through site downtown.
“Over at TCF, they max out at 5,000 cars a day. There’s literally no more parking spaces,” he said.
“We have three highly efficacious vaccines with a very good safety profile. Each of them are very effective in preventing clinically apparent disease.” — Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases
Duggan said he prefers the more effective Moderna and Pfizer two-dose varieties. Moderna and Pfizer’s double-dose shots are about 95% effective, according to early trials, while the efficacy of Johnson and Johnson’s inoculation is reported around 72%. The three vaccines have not undergone a comparative analysis and emerging coronavirus variants have added a new dimension in assessing the effectiveness of the inoculations.
“We have three highly efficacious vaccines with a very good safety profile. Each of them are very effective in preventing clinically apparent disease,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, in response to Duggan’s remarks. “Importantly, all three of them have a very important effect of being extraordinarily effective in preventing severe disease and particularly preventing hospitalizations.”
“If you go in and a vaccine is available to you, I would take the first available vaccine because the most important thing to do is to get vaccinated,” he added.
“Key Part” of Vaccine Center Expansion
Earlier this week, Duggan said the single-shot vaccine would be better used in rural areas where outreach is more difficult. Now he says Detroit would take the treatment if demand increases and would open a second site.
“Johnson and Johnson is a very good vaccine. Moderna and Pfizer are the best. And I am going to do everything I can to make sure that the residents of the city of Detroit get the best.”
Duggan said the city has 29,000 doses of vaccine this week to administer, and next week the city is expected to get at least 25,000 more.
“I have full confidence that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is both safe and effective,” Duggan said Friday in a statement. “We are making plans now for Johnson & Johnson to be a key part of our expansion of vaccine centers and are looking forward to receiving Johnson & Johnson vaccines in the next allocation.”
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