There
is an expected short supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of a
manufacturing issue last week which is affecting students at Long Island
campuses and those who are homebound.
J&J
was forced to throw away 15 million doses last week due to the issue. There are
currently 21,000 doses to be given out to 38 SUNY campuses statewide, which
also includes Stony Brook and Suffolk County Community College.
SUNY
officials say they hope to get more J&J vaccines, but if they don't, they
are ready to switch gears.
“We have the Moderna vaccine.
We have the Pfizer vaccine. We'll adjust, we'll re-schedule our students to
make sure they get the first dose and then the second dose before they go home,” said SUNY Chancellor Jim
Malatras.
The
J&J vaccine was also meant to be available to homebound residents in Nassau
and Suffolk – the decreased supply means
less of that vaccine to go around.
Gov.
Andrew Cuomo says New York will see an 88% drop in the supply of the J&J
vaccine.
SUNY Old Westbury and
Farmingdale College will administer a total of 1,200 J&J vaccines to
students on Monday.