New York City COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility

Quick Digest

• Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson have all received emergency use authorization from the FDA for the use of their Covid-19 vaccines.
• Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines are >94% effective at preventing Covid-19 infection, and require two doses, spaced three to four weeks apart. Though similarly effective, these vaccines are not interchangeable. You must get the same vaccine for your second dose as you did for your first dose.
• Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is >66% effective at preventing Covid-19, and only requires a single dose.
• New York is following a phased distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine. This means that only people identified as eligible in the current phases will be able to receive the vaccine. Currently, only those in Phase 1A and Phase 1B are eligible to receive the vaccine. We outline the requirements below.

What is the difference among the Covid-19 vaccines?

There are currently three FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccines: 1) Pfizer-BioNTech 2) Moderna and 3) Johnson & Johnson. While these three vaccines all are effective at preventing Covid-19, they differ in terms of the number of doses needed and their effectiveness. Most often, you do not get to choose which vaccine you get, but below is a chart outlining their differences.