A New Jersey family is questioning the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after three family members tested positive for the virus after taking the shot in March.
The father remains critically ill.
‘I just can not understand how he got so serious when he was fully vaccinated. I just do not understand, ”says Laura Eugene.
Eugene, her husband Francisco and their son all came down with the virus. They were vaccinated on March 6 at the Javits Center in New York. Francisco (59) is a diabetic. He is critically ill at JFK Hospital in Edison and can barely speak.
Eugene says she is not sure how her husband was exposed to the virus.
“My husband does not go out because I have COPD. We are very limited, ”she says.
The efficacy of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been reported in clinical trials by 72%. The vaccination against Moderna and Pfizer is 95% effective.
Data from J&J has confirmed a high efficiency when it comes to keeping people who become ill in hospital. But doctors say vaccines may not always work for everyone.
“There are some that may not generate enough antibodies to protect or immunize COVID-19,” says Dr. Reynold Panettieri, of Rutgers University.
Panettieri says it is not common to test for antibodies after vaccination to see if the patient is protected. It was also not clear whether the Eugene family contracted a variant of the virus.
Panettieri says he has seen it in some people who get the Pneumovax.
“People who get the vaccine against pneumonia, there are people who will die from pneumonia because the immune system does not generate the necessary immunity,” he says.
Eugene says she has been ill for the past six days. She says she can not visit her husband in the hospital and that they can only speak by telephone or via FaceTime. She says doctors gave little explanation.
“They said we should just wait every day to see how he reacts. It is now up to him how his body reacts, ”says Eugene.
Health experts say it is therefore important that everyone continues to wear masks and practice good hygiene after vaccination.