Stanford experts encourage continued vaccination after Johnson & Johnson’s suspension is lifted

After 10 days of distribution pause For the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, researchers at Stanford University emphasized the rarity of side effects, affecting about one millionth, and had different ideas about suspension, but people vaccinated. Everyone agreed that we should not be discouraged from receiving it. ..

“The chances of getting very serious or fatal when infected with COVID-19 are well in excess of one million. It’s like 1%-100 times,” said a professor of medicine. Dean Winslow said.

Federal Health Agency pause Regarding the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 13, we investigated the blood coagulation status (cerebral vein thrombosis) found in 6 out of 7 million Johnson & Johnson vaccinated people in the United States.Pause Lifted On Friday, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will include a new warning label for blood clots.

“Last year, I saw a lot of people infected with COVID in hospitals, but there were few serious reactions to the J + J vaccine,” wrote Philip Grant, an assistant professor of infectious diseases. “Given how rare cerebral venous thrombosis is, I think the FDA and CDC were able to conduct an investigation without a pause.”

Grant lead In a Johnson & Johnson clinical trial in Stanford last November, he said, the side effects of blood clotting did not surface in the Phase 3 trial. He added that the purpose of the post-marketing surveillance is to detect rare side effects not seen in small phase 3 trials.

Winslow said a suspension was needed from a regulatory and ethical point of view, and showed that the US surveillance system worked as intended by immediately catching and reporting side effects.

“Suspending vaccination to confirm the data is reasonably wise to take to ensure that the medical community makes the best recommendations to patients based on the data available. It’s a big step, “writes Stacey Vaccine, a primary care and artificial health instructor.

Despite the setbacks, researchers are less concerned about vaccine supply issues. James Zender, a professor of pathology and hematology, said that because there are already two mRNA vaccines in the United States, Pfizer and Moderna, even if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is suspended, the entire American people will be vaccinated. He said it would not have a significant impact on his ability.

Grant wrote that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the only single-dose vaccine approved in the United States, but it can affect regions where storage is more of a problem.

Beyond the supply of vaccines, researchers are more concerned that suspensions encourage vaccine hesitation. Grant writes that it can affect confidence in all vaccines, not just Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

“The suspension did not permanently undermine the public’s impression of vaccine safety, as vaccines can play a major role in reaching hard-to-reach people in the United States and in global vaccination efforts. I hope that, “Grant wrote.

The reason for the side effects of the vaccine is not yet completely clear, but Zehnder said blood clotting from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine mimics it. A well-understood disease-Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT)-“except where blood clots occur and there are more women than men.” HIT Rare symptoms Caused by an autoimmune response to the drug heparin, it increases the risk of blood clotting.

Professor Lawrence Leon of hematology said that the relationship between blood clots and HIT needs to be clarified. These are similar to those found with the AstraZeneca vaccine, but mechanically different from blood clots and oral contraceptives in COVID-19 patients.

As many social media users are increasingly comparing Johnson & Johnson blood clots with those from contraceptives, 1 in 1,000 Can occur, experts say they Unmatched Because they are two different types of blood clots that arise from different causes and require different treatments.

FDA authorities too Said There is no clear association between Johnson & Johnson thrombosis and the use of oral contraceptives.

“At this time, it is not possible to determine if there were additional factors such as medications or comorbidities that could have caused these adverse events,” Vilendrer wrote.

“It’s clearly safer to vaccinate and not COVID than to vaccinate because of very rare complications,” Zehnder said. “The challenge is to identify the group of people who should be vaccinated with the mRNA vaccine instead of this vaccine …. I think that’s a big challenge.”