Mayor de Blasio Receives his Booster Shot: Goes with Moderna, after J&J One-Shot

By Yehudit Garmaise

     “Give me a boost, Dave,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told to his health commissioner Dave Chokshi, MD, this morning, who gave the mayor his Moderna booster seven months after he also received his one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine on his live morning press conference, back in March.

     “You know the drill, we have had some practice with this,” said the mayor, who rolled up his sleeve. 

     “Many New Yorkers are now eligible to go out and get that booster, and you can mix and match different brands, like I am doing.

     “Like Dave, I got J & J, and now I will lead by example.

     “It is time for a booster, and the advice I have received, the best alternative for a booster is Moderna: based on the latest research.”

    “We have done this very successfully before. I am putting my shoulder where my mouth is.”

     As Dr. Chokshi administered the mayor’s booster shot, he reminded New Yorkers that they can get either their first or second doses, or their boosters in the comfort of their own homes by looking online for home vaccines in New York City or at one of the many city-run vaccination sites.

     “Job One is always to get folks who have not even gotten a single dose: that is always going to be our first strategic imperative,” the mayor said. “But the booster is really important, and obviously, on Thursday night, we got what we are waiting for: the formal approval from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and starting Friday morning, this city was ready, and already administering boosters in our city-run sites.”

     Since the city first initiated its booster effort began when the CDC started to issue its approval, almost 227,000 New Yorkers have received booster doses, said the mayor, who proudly added that those boosters add “further layers of protection to the more than 6 million New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated.”

      “The science continues to show that all three of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly effective at saving lives and preventing suffering,” Dr. Chokshi said. “That is why getting more New Yorkers fully vaccinated remains our top priority.

     “Anyone who received the single dose J & J vaccine, at least two months ago, like the mayor and I did, should get a booster shot, and it can be any of the three vaccine-types, and while the science is not settled about which booster is best, some evidence suggests that a Moderna or Pfizer booster could produce higher antibody levels than a second dose of J & J.

     “You are also eligible for a booster if you received Moderna or Pfizer, at least six months ago, and are in one of these categories: if you are a senior 65 and older, if you are an adult with an underlying medical condition, or an adult with higher risk of COVID-19 exposure, like a healthcare worker, a first responder, or a nursing home resident.

   “If you received two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, the science that we have suggests getting the same vaccine for your booster, but you have the choice to switch.”

     Vaccination, the mayor says every day is “the thing that is bringing us back.”

     “I am so proud of all New Yorkers,” Mayor de Blasio said. “We have been leading the nation: the number of people who have gotten vaccinated.

     “The approaches we have put into effect and the way people have embraced them. It has been absolutely outstanding.

      “It is why you can see the life of the city coming back more and more all the time.”

      “Here is my message to all of New Yorkers: Get that booster. It is good for you. It keeps you safe. It keeps your family safe.”