Another day, another Dem airing skepticism over the effectiveness of vaccines, this time from Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan who reportedly turned away 6200 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine because he thinks it’s not effective:
Detroit @MayorMikeDuggan is turning away 6,200 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines because it's not as effective as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and preventing #COVID19 illnesseshttps://t.co/MZGRoTfmxe via @annalise_frank & @crainsdetroit
— Chad Livengood (@ChadLivengood) March 4, 2021
People were very quick to call out the mayor:
All the US vaccines are amazing, but J&J’s has some cool advantages over Pfizer & Moderna: it’s one dose, is the only US vaccine proven effective in places with high variant spread and still had 0 hospitalizations and deaths in trials, and is shown to prevent asymptomatic spread https://t.co/HTkLvXDxRm
— Grace Panetta (@grace_panetta) March 5, 2021
And:
Well this is incredibly irresponsible. https://t.co/1NKb9bVcOx
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) March 5, 2021
For the record, Dr. Anthony Fauci — who Dems tell us to listen to, right — said take whatever vaccine is first available:
Dr. Fauci dispels myths about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine: ‘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’ pic.twitter.com/QxSOkyl8cF
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 6, 2021
But it’s not just the mayor. Catholic bishops in the state also told people to prefer the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines:
ICYMI: Michigan Catholic bishops say Pfizer, Moderna #COVIDvaccines should be preferred over Johnson & Johnsonhttps://t.co/ORKwzlAwuJ#CovidVaccine #COVID19 #COVID #Michigan #Detroit
— Chad Livengood (@ChadLivengood) March 5, 2021
Mayor Duggan, however, slowly started walking things back as the day wore on:
At a Detroit City Council budget presentation today, @MayorMikeDuggan was asked about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine controversy and appears to be backpedaling a bit.
Follow @annalise_frank's thread: https://t.co/dFPwN0geE0
— Chad Livengood (@ChadLivengood) March 5, 2021
He then got an assist from the White House:
Detroit @MayorMikeDuggan getting some help from White House senior adviser @ASlavitt, who told reporters during the WH #COVID briefing today that Duggan is "very eager for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine."
Video at 16:25-mark:https://t.co/Cpq5i90CPi
— Chad Livengood (@ChadLivengood) March 5, 2021
And by the end of the day, he pulled the full 180:
INBOX: New statement from #Detroit @MayorMikeDuggan regarding the Johnson & Johnson #CovidVaccine:
Says city vaccination operations were "at capacity."
"We always intended to distribute Johnson & Johnson once the demand warranted it and we had our distribution plan in place…" pic.twitter.com/ZZbg6UuMXC
— Chad Livengood (@ChadLivengood) March 5, 2021
More here on the J&J vaccine’s effectiveness:
So about the J&J vaccine. I've heard from people who don't want it because they're worried its less effective than the other two vaccines.
LA County officials just addressed this:
— Soumya (@skarlamangla) March 5, 2021
LA County chief science officer Dr. Paul Simon said that comparisons of vaccines across clinical trials aren't accurate, since each trial was designed differently and efficacy was measured differently.
— Soumya (@skarlamangla) March 5, 2021
Plus, the Pfizer and Moderna clinical trials were conducted in an earlier phase of the pandemic when there were fewer variants and was tested in different populations, so that further complicates comparisons.
"The efficacy results cannot be directly compared," Simon said.
— Soumya (@skarlamangla) March 5, 2021
LA County chief science officer Dr. Paul Simon: "All three vaccines were highly effective in preventing hospitalization and death due to COVID … Differences in reported vaccine efficacy are insignificant relative to the" big benefits.
— Soumya (@skarlamangla) March 5, 2021
Because the J&J vaccine is single dose, immunity kicks in sooner than with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which require two doses three to four weeks apart, after which you're fully protected.
"The best vaccine is the one a person can get soonest," Simon said.
— Soumya (@skarlamangla) March 5, 2021
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