Duggan says Detroit will receive Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after declining first batch

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said that the city is looking forward to receiving doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after turning down a batch with 6,200 doses.

During a press conference Thursday, Duggan referred to Moderna and Pfizer as being the best vaccines against the virus.

"Johnson & Johnson is a good vaccine. Moderna and Pfizer are the best and I am going to do everything I can to make sure residents of Detroit get the best," he said. "This week we’ve received 29,000 Modena and Pfizer vaccines."

After those comments, Duggan said in a statement Friday that he has "full confidence that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is both safe and effective."

He added that the vaccine will be important to the city as it expands its vaccination eligibility and said the city will add a second site to administer Johnson & Johnson vaccines when they arrive.

MORE: Here's who is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Detroit

Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the Chief Medical Executive of Michigan, ensured that the vaccine is safe and effective.

"It works differently from Pfizer and Moderna. It uses an inactive form of the common cold virus that cannot cause any illness. It gives that cold to the body's cells to make antibodies to fight the real virus if you come in contact with it in the future," she said.

So far, J&J has proven 85% effective against the virus in preventing severe illness and zero deaths have happened to anyone who has received the vaccine.