Long Island hospitals will begin receiving the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine this week, with at least one prepared to publicly immunize a patient on Wednesday.
Northwell Health said it will receive a shipment on Wednesday at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, where it will administer the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to a patient being discharged from the hospital.
Catholic Health said most of the six hospitals it operates on Long Island are expecting a shipment by Thursday, the health system confirmed.
Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside expects a shipment later this week, spokesman Damian Becker said.
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is the third approved against COVID-19, following the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots. Those two vaccines, already given to more than 3 million state residents, require two doses. The Johnson & Johnson version is a one-shot vaccine.
Medical experts have played up the Johnson & Johnson version’s ability to be easily stored and its effectiveness in keeping people who develop COVID-19 from developing severe symptoms.
It’s “extremely effective” in helping COVID-19 patients avoid hospitalizations and deaths, said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of infectious diseases at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park.
Farber added that the vaccine can be stored in a regular refrigerator.
Northwell said that because it is a one-shot vaccine, Johnson & Johnson will “boost our capacity to vaccinate twice the number of people over the same period of time.”
With David Reich-Hale
Check back for updates on this developing story. Sign up for COVID-19 text alerts at newsday.com/text.
