NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced that the city may have to delay administering a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccines by two weeks due to limited supply.
According to the mayor, the city has administered 650,546 total doses with only 7,710 doses on hand as of this morning, he said.
With the Johnson J&ohnson vaccine possibly arriving within weeks, Mayor de Blasio called for the flexibility to "get as many shots in arms, leaving no doses on the table and using second doses strategically."
De Blasio said the city has an allotment of almost 100,000-second dose vaccines that won't be used for another two weeks, which he believes could be used as the first dose for those who have yet to be vaccinated.
"Here's an opportunity to do something here now, put those second doses into play," de Blasio said. "I really believe that when we move the second doses up and use them as first doses, whenever poss it just allows us to do the most essential thing, which is protect people."
There are still 72,409 second doses to be scheduled and the we could be doing so much more," de Blasio said, noting that the city has the capacity to vaccinate 500,00 people per week, if they "had the supply."