Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine has a double dose of problems. Georgia is the third state to temporarily disabled a vaccine where eight people had negative reactions to the shot.
Earlier this week, 18 people in North Carolina reported side effects, while 11 people in Colorado responded to the shot with symptoms ranging from dizziness, nausea and fainting.
“It’s a very powerful vaccine, and what we’re seeing is some strength that has a very rare side effect that we just have to be aware of,” said Dr. David Agus, medical associate of CBS News, said.
All three major U.S. vaccines have had adverse reactions in more than 60,000 people nationwide. For every manufacturer – Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – only a tenth of 1% of all people reported side effects.
Another problem Johnson & Johnson faces is distribution. The company dramatically scaled back shipping to states by 86% next week.
Meanwhile, Michigan is experiencing terrible deja vu, as some hospital-intensive care units are near capacity.
“We all know what works and it has to be a team effort. We have to do it together. Life depends on it,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said.
Whitmer calls for a two-week break over indoor dining, personal learning for high schools and youth sports – a major factor in new cases among children.
Pfizer is the first company to use an extension of its emergency authorizations to give the vaccine to children as young as 12 years old.
In California, thousands were turned down after being told to show up at one site with one extra dose. In New York City, variants make up nearly 80% of the new daily cases, with 45% homemade. Another 30% is driven by the variant first discovered in the UK, which is thought to be up to 70% more contagious and deadly.
Agus warns Americans not to panic.
“The current vaccines that are in the public domain work against all the variants,” the medical associate at CBS News said. “Science is overcoming here. And so I think by June we are going to overcome this virus in the United States and come here to a new normal.”