The approval of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will help increase the number of doses that will arrive in New York this week.
New York is expecting 164,800 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The vaccine is the third to receive emergency use authorization from the federal government after regulators approved it over the weekend.
The state Clinical Advisory Task Force made its recommendation to use the new vaccine on Monday.
Moderna and Pfizer received emergency use authorization in December. The difference between those and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is that the latter is a single-dose inoculation. Moderna and Pfizer require two doses, with the second dose administered a few weeks after the first.
"Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine with less restrictive storage requirements will make it easier for the state to reach more New Yorkers, faster," Cuomo said. "There's a lot of work ahead, but this vaccine's approval gives us cause for optimism as we move forward to a post-COVID future."
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With the doses from Johnson & Johnson, the state is expecting to receive its highest-ever weekly vaccine allocation — 878,080 doses. In addition to the 164,800 doses of the new vaccine, the state will get 422,780 first doses and 290,500 second doses from Moderna and Pfizer.
The state recommendation of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine came on the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 case in New York. There have been more than 1.6 million positive cases statewide and 38,577 deaths.
Cuomo described the anniversary as the beginning of the "unimaginable tragedy of COVID-19" for New Yorkers."
"We've faced great pain and loss over the last 365 days, but there's reason to be hopeful for the future, and the state's Clinical Advisory Task Force's recommendation of the next vaccine for COVID is part of that ongoing convalescence," he said.
Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.