Johnson & Johnson's Vaccine Reports Bring Global Vaccination Efforts to a Standstill

April 15, 2021

A CNN article released on April 14 and titled, "Johnson & Johnson Rare Blood Clot Concerns Deal New Blow to Global Vaccination Drive," brings a deeper look into the steps taken worldwide after the potential side effects of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine marked a new setback in an ongoing chain of delays.

The reports stated that six out of more than 6.8 million Americans experienced blood clots after getting their vaccine shot. The suspension of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines in the U.S. follows a series of similar measures taken in Europe and South Africa, where a more contagious COVID-19 strain has triggered a new surge of infections.

This is not the first major delay in the global vaccination drive. Last month, drug regulators in Europe, the United Kingdom, and Australia started studying the potential relation between the widely deployed Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clot cases among recipients. On April 7, the
European Medicines Agency (EMA) disclosed their findings and declared that "the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19 overall outweigh the risks of side effects."

Early statements by the EMA indicated that blood clot cases "occurred in women under 60 years of age within 2 weeks of vaccination," which would correspond to the data regarding the people affected by the Johnson & Johnson shot. Both vaccines use adenovirus vector technology to stimulate an immune response, so health officials are set on evaluating a possible correlation between these cases.

Because both vaccines are more accessible in terms of pricing and storage than their Pfizer and Moderna counterparts, they were expected to boost vaccination efforts in developing countries. The South African government, for instance, had acquired 9 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after the AstraZeneca shot proved to be insufficient against the new COVID-19 strain.

As of now, many countries are taking different measures to move on with the vaccination process. Johnson & Johnson has delayed the vaccine's distribution after the EU authorized the use of 200 million doses. Countries like the UK and Australia have continued allocating the AstraZeneca shots with restrictions for younger people, while Denmark has stopped distributing the vaccine entirely.

You can read the complete article here: Johnson & Johnson Rare Blood Clot Concerns Deal New Blow to Global Vaccination Drive.