Johnson & Johnson’s one-and-done vaccine arriving in Chicago this week, mayor says

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday she expects Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot coronavirus vaccine to arrive in Chicago in a day or two and the city is ready to put the third option to immediate use.

Two days after the Food and Drug Administration cleared the J&J vaccine for emergency use, Lightfoot told reporters she’s chomping at the bit to take advantage of the one-and-done option it provides.

“We anticipate that it will be here, if not today, then tomorrow. I don’t have a firm lock on what the amount of doses is, so I don’t want to get ahead of myself. But we do expect it here this week,” the mayor said at a news conference on the gradual re-opening of Chicago Public Schools.

“We will put it to work as soon as we get it. CDPH has been preparing now for some time, as we saw the Johnson & Johnson vaccine kind of moving through the regulatory approval process. And it gives us obviously another tool to use to get people vaccinated. So we’re excited for that opportunity.”

Johnson & Johnson initially is providing a few million doses of its one-shot vaccine, with shipments to states expected to begin Monday. By the end of March, the pharmaceutical giant has said it expects to deliver 20 million doses, ramping up to 100 million doses by summer.

Vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna require two doses and are 95% effective against symptomatic COVID-19.

Johnson & Johnson’s one-and-done shot is 85% effective against severe COVID-19. In testing, it dropped to 66% when moderate cases of the coronavirus are added to the mix.

The arrival of a third vaccine option comes at a critical time in Chicago.

On March 10, a mass vaccination site with both drive-through and temporary walk-up facilities will open in a United Center parking lot, staffed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The goal is to vaccinate as many senior citizens as possible.

Lightfoot said city, county and state public health officials worked with FEMA through the weekend to “nail down specific details” of how the site will operate and how Illinois residents can sign up to be vaccinated.

“Not only what vaccine will be used. The number of cars. How we’re getting seniors to and from the location. All the logistical information is coming and moving along nicely. And we’ll have more details about that and when people can start signing up to use that particular facility,” the mayor said.

March is what Lightfoot is calling S.O.S. — “Support Our Seniors” — month, complete with “tool kits” for distribution by community based organizations to encourage senior citizens to get vaccinated.

“We’ve got about a third of our seniors that have been vaccinated in Chicago and across Cook County. But we’ve got about 250,000 more in the city that we really need — either bring them to the vaccine or bring the vaccine to them,” the mayor said.

“For every senior that we vaccinate, we’re saving a specific number of lives. They are the most important folks to get vaccinated — in part, because they’re the most vulnerable. They have underlying conditions. And we save lives by vaccinating our seniors.”