J & J Vaccines and Boosters: CDC Advisors Meet Thursday to Discuss Safety Issues and the Need for Coronavirus Boosters

CNN
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Vaccine advisors from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meet Thursday to make recommendations on how to address new safety issues with the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine. Covid-19 vaccine booster In the future, it will be needed, especially for people with weakened immunity.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Implementation (ACIP) will meet from 11:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Standard Time. The panel has no plans to vote on issues on the agenda.

ACIP is a panel of external healthcare professionals in vaccination, immunology, pediatrics, internal medicine, nursing, virology, public health, infectious diseases and other disciplines. The CDC usually accepts its recommendations once a vote is taken.

ACIP has advised on emergency use authorization for the three Covid-19 vaccines currently available in the United States. Pfizer vaccine for ages 12-15 And in april End the suspension of J & J vaccine It is caused by a rare blood coagulation disorder that occurred in a small number of vaccinated people.

On Thursday, ACIP will address some new issues regarding the safety and durability of the Covid-19 vaccine. First, ACIP reviews recent data on cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in people vaccinated with Covid-19 with the J & J coronavirus vaccine.Federal health officials say there were about 100 preliminary reports Case GBS is a rare neuropathy in about 13 million people who have been vaccinated, where the body’s immune system damages nerve cells, causing weakness and temporary paralysis.

US Food and Drug Administration Already last week we updated the J & J vaccine label List GBS as a rare risk. Tomorrow’s ACIP discussion will focus on the question of whether the benefits of the J & J vaccine still outweigh the risks of GBS, given this adverse event. ACIP is expected to say so.

Tomorrow’s meeting was triggered by this newly identified adverse event, Dr. William Schaffner, a professor and ACIP member of the Infectious Diseases Division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN. “There is no formal vote, and we come to the conclusion that Covid’s risk is very high and the vaccine’s risk is very low. It’s real, but very low,” he added.

ACIP also undertakes the subject of coronavirus vaccine boosters, prioritizing a review of data on the need for booster vaccines for immunocompromised people. Recent reports suggest that the Covid-19 vaccine is not sufficiently effective for people with weakened immunity, and last week the CDC revised its guidance for fully vaccinated individuals. ..It Warn people with immunodeficiency Vaccines may not be very effective for them, and they are encouraged to continue safety precautions as if they were not vaccinated. However, the CDC has not yet officially recommended boosters to anyone.

Tomorrow’s goal for ACIP is to consider the need for boosters and to see the data currently available and publicly available. “what [ACIP] Tomorrow we will show that there is very little evidence, “says Schaffner. This ultimately means that the group will not vote for boosters.

Earlier this month, Pfizer received a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as a booster, citing data from Israel on the continued spread of the coronavirus and its limited efficacy against the more contagious delta variant. Announced that it is seeking permission to provide.

Health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, continue to say that the United States needs more data before recommending a coronavirus vaccine booster to anyone.

“The CDC and FDA have said no boost is needed, based on the data we know now,” Forch told CNN’s Chris Cuomo last week. “That doesn’t mean it doesn’t change. In fact, we may need to give boosters to certain selected groups, such as the elderly or groups with underlying illnesses, either entirely or someday. not.”