coronavirus

San Francisco Will Offer Moderna, Pfizer Dose to Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Recipients

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A San Francisco hospital is looking to ease concerns from many who got the Johnson and Johnson vaccine by giving them a different shot.

The idea is controversial. With some calling them boosters even though SF General says that's not the case.

โ€œIโ€™m just really against someone sticking me over and over again,โ€ said Larzine Wright of San Jose.

Last spring, she received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

โ€œI didnโ€™t anticipate getting a booster shot this early in the game,โ€ Wright said.

But like some others, she has wondered whether getting J&J was the right choice โ€“ as many people are now questioning its effectiveness, particularly against the delta variant.

Zuckerberg General Hospital is now offering a "supplemental" Pfizer or Moderna shot to anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and wants more peace of mind. Even though they say the Johnson shot remains a good choice.

โ€œThe Johnson & Johnson is a good vaccine,โ€ said Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco director of public health. โ€œWe will continue to administer it. If people want the Moderna vaccine, then weโ€™ll do that.โ€

San Francisco's director of public health says no policies have changed, and the city and county will continue to follow CDC rules that prohibit booster shots โ€“ but will honor special requests. 

Mayor London Breed, who also got Johnson & Johnson, says she will follow the current recommendations. 

โ€œWhy would I want another shot? I barely got the first one, okay?โ€ she said.

Others, like Berkeley's John Pujol, say heโ€™s in no rush to see another needle until the science is clear. 

โ€œWhatever shot you got first will have a beneficial effect, I think, whether itโ€™s a marginal beneficial effect or an enormous beneficial effect, I think time will tell,โ€ he said.

Time will certainly tell whether a supplemental shot will offer more protection. 

Meanwhile, volunteers like these are still trying to convince the 23% of eligible San Franciscans who are unvaccinated to roll up their sleeves. 

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