Skip to main content

Covid-19 Vaccines- Your Options

CDC recommends people not get J&J vaccine if Pfizer, Moderna are available.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off on language that says the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are the "preferred" options over Johnson & Johnson's.

People shouldn’t get the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine when the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots are available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The recommendation, from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, came hours after members of the agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted in favor of the guidance. The panel convened following an update from the Food and Drug Administration on the risk of rare but potentially life-threatening blood clots linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

At least 54 people in the U.S., most of them women, have been hospitalized by the blood clots, and nine people have died.

"Today’s updated recommendation emphasizes CDC’s commitment to provide real-time scientific information to the American public," Walensky said in a statement. "I continue to encourage all Americans to get vaccinated and boosted.”

The advisory panel voted unanimously to declare the mRNA vaccines, from Pfizer and Moderna, the "preferred" options for adults, ultimately concluding that the mRNA vaccines provided greater protection and fewer risks than Johnson & Johnson’s. The recommendation wouldn't prohibit use of the Johnson & Johnson shot but instead make it clear that the other options are better choices if they are available.

I really cannot recommend a vaccine that has been associated with a condition that may lead to death," said a committee member, Dr. Pablo Sanchez, a pediatrician at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio.

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is linked to a blood clotting condition known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS. The AstraZeneca vaccine has also been associated with the blood clot issue.

Both the Johnson & Johnson and the AstraZeneca vaccines use an adenovirus technology to train the immune system to fight the coronavirus. The shots developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna use a different approach, mRNA, to train the immune system, and they haven't been linked to the clots.

The advisory committee met after the FDA announced Tuesday that had it added a contraindication to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, saying people who had previously developed TTS after having gotten one dose of the vaccine shouldn't get second doses. The FDA also said the highest reporting rate of the blood clot issue — about 1 case per 100,000 doses administered — has been in women ages 30 to 49. About 15 percent of the cases have been fatal.

Dr. Sara Oliver, an epidemic intelligence service officer for the CDC, said in a presentation to the committee that data show that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine prevents more hospitalizations and deaths from Covid than the TTS it can cause. Still, she said, the vaccine prevents fewer hospitalizations and deaths than two doses of an mRNA vaccine.

Dr. Penny Heaton, the global head of research and development at Johnson & Johnson's vaccine division, defended the shot at the meeting, saying it offers high levels of protection against Covid, requires only one dose and is easier to store and transport than the mRNA vaccines, which must be stored at cold temperatures.

But committee members noted that there is increasing evidence to suggest that one dose of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine isn't sufficient. In October, federal health officials said all Johnson & Johnson recipients should get booster shots if it has been two months since their initial vaccinations. The vast majority of initial Johnson & Johnson recipients have opted for a Pfizer or a Moderna booster.

After the vote, the committee's chair, Dr. Grace Lee, acknowledged that some members want to make the language recommending the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines over Johnson & Johnson's even stronger, saying they wouldn't recommend the shot to their family members, while others stressed the importance of having an alternative vaccine to the mRNA shots.

The Biden administration is urging all eligible people in the U.S. to get boosters against the threat of the omicron variant. Initial data suggest that three shots of the mRNA vaccines provide adequate protection against the new strain. 

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are readily available in the U.S. More than 570 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been delivered to providers; only 28 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been delivered.

The link between the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and blood clots first emerged in April after six cases were reported in women. Federal health officials paused the use of the vaccine at that time to investigate the cases and resumed administration 10 days later, adding a warning that the vaccine could be linked to the clots, particularly among women ages 18 to 49.

A total of 54 cases of TTS after Johnson & Johnson vaccination were identified through late August, Dr. Isaac See, a scientist in the CDC's emerging infectious diseases unit, said Thursday in a presentation to the committee. All the patients were hospitalized, including 36 who were admitted to intensive care.

Most cases occurred in women, and symptoms usually occurred within nine days of vaccination with the first dose, he said. No cases of the rare clot issue have occurred in pregnant women. Risk factors for the clot issue include obesity, hypertension and diabetes.

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine initially held promise, because it could be given as a single dose, rather than the two doses required for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. But clinical trials found that its effectiveness was much lower than that of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

The effectiveness fell further with the emergence of the delta variant, leading health officials to recommend boosters.

More than 16 million people in the U.S. have had single shots of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the CDC. More than 470 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been administered.

Culled:NBC News

Credit:Berkeley Lovelace Jr. and Sara G. Miller

Comments

Post a Comment

Type your comments here

Popular posts from this blog

Man Scales 10 Foot Fence Into Lions Den-Lions Maul Man To Death

A man, described as middle-aged, was mauled to death by a lion after he climbed into a zoo enclosure in the capital, Accra, Ghana. Unfortunately, the man died from his injuries after Sunday's attack, officials report. The Ghana authorities have began investigation on the subject, that has left many in Ghana in awe. Police have commenced an investigation to establish the motive of the intruder and circumstances surrounding the attack. Wildlife authorities suspect he may have planned to steal two rare white lion cubs which have become a big draw since their birth last November. The victim's body was retrieved from the zoo and taken to a local morgue. The Accra Zoo has been temporarily closed to the public following the incident. A lion, a lioness and their two white cubs were in the enclosure when the incident happened. "The lions have cubs so if you come too close they may feel you are trying to take away their babies," Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources B...
4 comments
Read more

Christmas-Federal Government announces free transportation by Train

Yuletide: FG Declares Free Passenger Train Rides. The Federal Government through the Ministry of Transportation has in the spirit of Christmas declared passenger trains across the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) system free of charge during the period. According to a communique from the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), this gesture is to enable Nigerians to travel and celebrate Christmas. The spokesman for the corporation, Yakub Mahmood, said passengers trains on both standard and narrow gauge lines, which include Abuja to Kaduna, Lagos to Ibadan, Warri to Itakpe, Kano to Lagos, Minna to Kaduna, Abba to Port Harcourt routes are now all free from today Friday 24th December 2021 to Tuesday 4th January 2022 inclusive. The NRC, however, noted that all boarding tickets due process by “valued customers must be complied with but not paid, while COVID-19 protocols also must be strictly observed on board”. While wishing all Nigerians a happy Christmas and prosperous New Year, the corporat...
2 comments
Read more

Happy Mother's Day

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE  MY MOTHER, POEM BY ANN TAYLOR  Who fed me from her gentle breast, And hush’d me in her arms to rest, And on my cheek sweet kisses prest? My Mother. When sleep forsook my open eye, Who was it sung sweet hushaby, And rock’d me that I should not cry? My Mother. Who sat and watched my infant head, When sleeping in my cradle bed, And tears of sweet affection shed? My Mother. When pain and sickness made me cry, Who gazed upon my heavy eye, And wept for fear that I should die? My Mother. Who dress’d my doll in clothes so gay, And taught me pretty how to play. And minded all I had to say? My Mother. Who taught my infant lips to pray, And love God’s holy book and day. And walk in Wisdom’s pleasant way? My Mother. And can I ever cease to be Affectionate and kind to thee, Who was so very kind to me? My Mother. Ah, no! the thought I cannot bear; And if God please my life to spare, I hope I shall reward thy care, My Mother. Who ran to help me when I fell, And w...
5 comments
Read more