White House Covid-19 task force coordinator Jeff Zeints said a “break” in Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine administration would not affect the distribution of the national vaccine, although some officials expected to rely on the one-shot vaccine in rural and isolated communities.
‘We have enough to continue the current pace of about 3 million shots per day, 200 million shots [Joe Biden’s] 100th day in the office, ”Zeints said in the information hall of the White House.
He later added: “We have enough stock of Moderna and Pfizer … to go to the fourth of July which we have talked about as a country.”
Six cases of blood clots and low platelet counts in women between the ages of 18 and 48 caused the CDC and the FDA to recommend interrupting the vaccine while investigating the possible link between the vaccine and the very rare syndrome. More than 6 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the US.
Officials said there were similarities between the syndrome being investigated and those associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe and Australia. The AstraZeneca vaccine is not available in the US. Both Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines share a vaccine technology called a ‘viral vector’. If a link is established, the syndrome will still be extremely rare, with less than one in every million people being vaccinated.
Health authorities said it was also important to interrupt the administration and make it known to the public because of the treatment needed for patients suffering from such blood clots. Standard treatment for blood clots uses heparin, a blood thinner. In this syndrome, officials have said that heparin can be “dangerous” and can aggravate the syndrome.
“When individuals, especially younger women, enter a physician with a thrombotic phenomenon, our physicians want to take note of taking a history of a recent vaccination,” he said. Dr Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser. “That would be important.”
The White House “had no involvement” in the announcement of a “pause” in the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the US. Zeints said the government is governed by science and will await the investigation of health officials.
On the question of whether the very rare possible side effect could increase vaccine hesitation, especially in rural areas where the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was expected to deploy, Zeints and Fauci said the break represents how serious patient safety is. .
“Hesitation among a group of people is a challenge,” Zeints said. “The FDA is acting the way they did today, showing that they are indeed the gold standard, and I think that should reassure the American public that they are very diligent.”
Flu-like side effects in the days immediately following the administration of the vaccine are common established side effects, and will usually resolve within a few days. In all six cases, the coagulation events occurred between six and 13 days after one of the patients received a vaccine.
Symptoms of coagulation syndrome include severe headache, shortness of breath, abdominal and leg pain. People who experience such symptoms, about one to three weeks after receiving the vaccination, should seek medical help. People who received the vaccine more than a month ago are at a very low risk for complications.