COVID-19 Vaccine: 5 New Things You Should Know

Throughout the United States — The recent development of the COVID-19 vaccine may mean that Americans may receive more shots than they expected in the fight against the coronavirus.

The state temporarily suspended a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine after six women reported a rare blood clotting problem within two weeks of receiving the shot. One of the women aged 18-48 has died.

The suspension came at the request of the Federal Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said it would give researchers time to determine whether the problem was directly or accidentally related to the vaccine.

Both Pfizer and Moderna also said this week that annual booster shots may be needed to increase the effectiveness of the vaccine.

The news has come to an end on April 29, approaching President Joe Biden’s goal of delivering 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine within 100 days of his inauguration.

CNN reports around 195 million times It was given in the United States as of Thursday, which is equivalent to about 59 doses per 100 people.

Here are five new things you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine.

1. Don’t panic about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine being suspended.

Health experts warn people not to worry too much about this issue. Especially for those who have already shot J & J. About 6.8 million people In the United States, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is vaccinated according to the FDA. So far, only 6 women have reported blood clot problems two weeks after firing, about 1 in 1 million.

Some observers compare the risk of the vaccine with similar blood clotting problems that can occur after taking oral contraceptives. The FDA reports that 1-5 out of 10,000 women are likely Develop blood clotting problems After taking an oral contraceptive containing a synthetic hormone called drospirenone.

Both problems are rare, but doctors told BuzzFeed News that Johnson & Johnson users experienced coagulation problems. Oral contraceptives..

“It’s not just apples and apples, it’s basically apples and papayas,” said Honey Al Samkari, a Massachusetts hematologist and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. “Yes, they can both cause blood clots, just as apples and papayas are both fruits, but the mechanism is completely different.”

Coagulation associated with oral contraceptives, known as deep vein thrombosis, occurs in the human foot and can be treated with anticoagulants. The problem of coagulation that develops in six women is known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, which can drain the blood supply to the brain and cannot be easily treated with thinner.

According to BuzzFeed, women develop problems after taking the J & J vaccine more rarely than oral contraceptives, but the vaccine has higher safety requirements than other drugs and the serious side effects reported are more serious. I can accept it.

2. No coagulation problems have been reported with modern and Pfizer vaccines.

The suspension of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should not question the safety of the other two Pfizer and Modana COVID-19 Vaccine.. According to insiders, about 185 million Americans have been given one of the vaccines and have not reported any serious side effects that could cause a similar outage.

One reason that two vaccines may be used mRNA Johnson & Johnson, a modified cold virus, provokes the body’s immune response. According to the publication, researchers also assume that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were tested and released earlier than the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, so there was more time to study suspicious side effects. I will.

3. You may need a booster vaccine after a year.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said they expect people to need it. Booster shot Of the vaccine about 1 year after the last dose.

The two said COVID-19 could turn into annual shots to address changing variants of the virus, as new influenza vaccines are released annually in response to new strains. I will.

Bansel on CNBC, Moderna booster shot I’m ready soon this fall.

“I think we’ll see many variants next year or so, but as vaccinations and natural infections increase, the pace of the variants slows down and the virus stabilizes, as seen in influenza.” He told the network.

It is unknown when Pfizer boosters will be available.

4. Oral vaccine is currently under development.

A biotechnology company in El Segundo, California is developing an oral alternative to the COVID-19 vaccine, which is given via a series of capsules.

Researcher Chang Soon Sion Institute According to CBS News, we’re seeing if pills alone can prevent the virus from getting infected, or if shots are still needed.

Patrick Sunsion, who owns the company, told the network that tablets target the inside of the virus, while other vaccines accelerate the development of antibodies that attack the virus’s outer protein shell.

“By giving jabs, we want to develop T cells everywhere in your body,” he told CBS. “And by oral administration, it protects the mucous membranes, intestines, and preferably the nose and mouth, because that is the way the virus enters. It does not enter through the blood.”

Soon-Shiong is also the owner of the Los Angeles Times and a partial owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.

5. The United States is considering the possibility of vaccine surplus.

The United States is well on its way to having hundreds of millions of surpluses of coronavirus vaccines, according to reports from the United States. Duke Global Health Innovation Center..

The authors of the report estimate that the United States “is likely to overdose more than 300 million” of the vaccine, believing that the AstraZeneca vaccine, like the other three vaccines, will be granted an emergency use authorization. .. The use of the vaccine was discontinued in Europe and Canada after people reported that they had experienced blood clotting problems similar to those experienced after the Johnson & Johnson vaccination.

According to the report’s authors, there are concerns that the United States may be stocking vaccines as developing countries are in desperate need of vaccines due to potential surpluses.

The report found that high-income countries such as the United States purchased various coronavirus vaccines 4.6 billion times, while low-income countries received only 770 million times.

“Only four countries or regions with less than half of the world’s population received 70% of the total dose of COVID-19 vaccine, but the poorest countries have rarely started vaccination due to lack of funding and supply. “Hmm,” the author writes.