Northwell Health administers 1st Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine on Long Island

BAY SHORE, Long Island (WABC) -- Northwell Health became one of the first health systems in the nation to administer the single-shot Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine Wednesday.

The third vaccine authorized for emergency use has shown 85% effective at preventing severe disease and was administered to a patient being discharged after hospitalization at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore.

Susan Maxwell-Trumble, 67, of Babylon, had hip replacement surgery Tuesday and is believed to be first in the Northwell system and among the first in the country to receive this vaccine.

"I just wanted to get it, instead of waiting," she said. "And then how do I get it? Who do I see?? Where do I get it?"

As a one-dose inoculation that can be stored at regular refrigerated temperatures and can stay viable for up to three months, the J&J vaccine is easier to transport, store and distribute than those produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

It will boost Northwell's capacity to vaccinate twice the number of people over the same period of time.

"There's no need to book a second appointment," Dr. Jay Enden said. "There's no need to worry about supply chain."

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Clinical trials confirmed that the J&J vaccine offers protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death that is comparable to the efficacy of the other vaccines.

The beginning of March marks the one-year anniversary of the first confirmed COVID-19 case in New York City.

Since then, more than 514,000 people across the nation - nearly 48,000 of them New Yorkers - have died from the virus.

The third vaccine helps add another tool to help fight the novel coronavirus.

"To be the first hospital to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a really big deal," Registered Nurse Donna Moravick said.

ALSO READ | Westchester marks 1-year anniversary of 1st COVID case, opens new vaccine center

The vaccine started shipping from a Kentucky warehouse on Monday, with an initial 3.9 million doses expected to arrive at destinations across the country within 24 to 48 hours.

The state of New York expects to receive 164,800 doses this week.

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