No “serious side effects” reported after 1,600 vaccinations, NYC commissioner says

NYC Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said following the vaccination of more than 1,600 health care workers, his department has so far not heard “of any serious adverse events, that means very serious side effects, in the city thus far.”

The side effects experienced so far are those seen in the study of the vaccine, particularly some pain at the injection site, some fatigue, some muscle aches, which generally only last 23-48 hours and are considered mild.

The city plans to publish a dashboard showing how many individuals are being vaccinated daily, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

All the public NYC health and hospitals received the vaccine yesterday, the CEO Mitch Katz said. More are expected next week. 

Right now they are focusing on people in the highest risk areas, emergency rooms, intensive care units and those over 60 years old, Katz said. 

Katz added “from looking at the numbers I believe we’re going to vaccinate the whole hospital in 3 weeks. Everyone in every single unit, just starting at the highest risk units.”

The officials were speaking at the Elmhurst location, which was one of the hardest hit hospitals at the epicenter of the pandemic.

Earlier, the mayor observed the first vaccinations at the public hospital.