On Thursday, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel recommended that most Americans receive the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna over the Johnson & Johnson shot. The panel unanimously endorsed the mRNA vaccines over the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
A statement from CDC read: “CDC is endorsing updated recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the prevention of COVID-19, expressing a clinical preference for individuals to receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine over Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine.”
Despite the health problems associated with the J&J vaccine, it will continue to be offered: “Individuals who are unable or unwilling to receive an mRNA vaccine will continue to have access to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine.”
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine faced a temporary pause in April over reports of blood clotting along with reports of thrombocytopenia, or low blood platelet counts in those who took the vaccine. The pause was lifted after both the FDA and the CDC concluded that the benefits of the shot outweighed the risk associated with it.
Now, after hearing presentations regarding a serious combination of blood clotting and low blood platelet levels that have been noted at higher than background rates in people who have gotten the J&J vaccine, the CDC advisory panel is suggesting that people receive the mRNA vaccines (GTAs) instead of the J&J offering.
“Today’s updated recommendation emphasizes CDC’s commitment to provide real-time scientific information to the American public. I continue to encourage all Americans to get vaccinated and boosted,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
According to many healthcare professionals, the J&J vaccine is also far less effective against the so-called omicron variant of COVID-19, although CDC was quick to say “receiving any vaccine is better than being unvaccinated.”
Since the April pause in using the J&J vaccine, both CDC and the FDA have been monitoring the number of adverse incidents associated with the vaccine, particularly incidents of thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). The number of incidents of TTS has risen, particularly in middle-aged females.
Out of 54 confirmed cases of TTS associated with those who had taken the J&J shot, 26 cases were in women under the age of 50. More than half of the cases reported also reported a condition known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). Nine people have died of TTS after getting the J&J shot, with seven of those also having CVST.
Earlier this week, the FDA officially listed TTS as a contraindication for the J&J shot.
“I just cannot recommend a vaccine that is associated with a condition that may lead to death. I think we have other vaccines,” said Dr. Pablo Sanchez, a panel member and the professor of pediatrics at the Ohio State University-Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
In its own statement, Johnson & Johnson acknowledged the TTS issue:
“The safety and well-being of those who use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine continues to be our number one priority,” says Dr. Mathai Mammen, the global head at Janssen Research & Development, LLC, Johnson & Johnson. “We appreciate today’s discussion and look forward to working with the CDC on next steps. In addition, we strongly support education and generating awareness of rare events, such as Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) and how to effectively manage it.”
The company also updated its vaccine fact sheet in order to include recent information on TTS.
It’s important to remember that the mRNA agents are not without health risks of their own. Both the Pfizer and Moderna shots, along with the Astrazeneca offering in Europe and abroad, have been linked to potentially deadly conditions known as myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of outer lining of the heart).
Even so, the only contraindication for the Pfizer and Moderna “vaccines” at present is severe allergic reaction. The FDA and CDC don’t yet recognize the serious heart-related side effects to the vaccines.
It’s also important to remember that COVID-19 is, generally, not a deadly virus unless there are serious comorbidities involved. It is also highly treatable under most circumstances. So, choosing against any shot is still a valid option, despite what the media might say.
