Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Many States Again Using J&J Vaccine After FDA Lifts Safety Pause
AP: With OK From Experts, Some States Resume Use Of J&J Vaccine
With a green light from federal health officials, many states resumed use of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on Saturday. Among the venues where it was being deployed: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Among the other states ordering or recommending a resumption, along with Indiana, were Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. (Crary, 4/24)
The Washington Post: The Public’s Concerns Over The Johnson & Johnson Coronavirus Vaccine Are Widespread, Post-ABC Poll Finds
Fewer than 1 in 4 Americans not yet immunized against the coronavirus say they would be willing to get the vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll that finds broad mistrust of the shot’s safety after federal health officials paused its use. The nationwide survey shows that slightly fewer than half of U.S. adults overall say they consider the Johnson & Johnson vaccine very or somewhat safe after its use was halted this month following reports of rare, severe blood clots. (Goldstein and Clement, 4/26)
AP: Turnout Low As Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Returns In Florida
Turnout was so low for the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine at a central Florida FEMA-run site that about 90% of the daily supply went unused following a 11-day pause, health officials said. (4/26)
Health News Florida: FEMA Sites To Resume Giving J&J Vaccines On Sunday
Federally supported vaccination sites in Florida will resume the use of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at 7 a.m. Sunday, state emergency officials said. The decision to resume came swiftly after U.S. health officials said Friday evening they were lifting an 11-day pause on vaccinations using the J&J vaccine. The four main sites in Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami and Orlando will have the capacity to administer up to 3,000 doses per day, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said. (4/24)
Houston Chronicle: Texas Lifts Pause On Administration Of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine
Department of State Health Services officials notified providers that they can resume administering the vaccine following a safety review and a determination by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee that benefits outweigh risks, according to DSHS. “We know some Texans prefer the simplicity of a single-dose vaccine, and the ease of storing and handling this vaccine gives providers more flexibility,” Dr. John Hellerstedt, the agency’s commissioner, said in a statement. “Resuming the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will prevent hospitalizations and save lives in Texas.” (Serrano, 4/24)
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada Joins Others In Resuming Use Of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
The State of Nevada said Saturday it’s joining other Western states in resuming use of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson doses. A panel of public health experts from California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington met Saturday to discuss lifting the pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the Associated Press reported. In an afternoon statement, the panel concluded that the “J&J vaccine is safe, effective, and that resumption of its use will support COVID-19 vaccine uptake, help reduce severe COVID-19 illnesses, and control the pandemic.” (Davis, 4/24)
The Boston Globe: State Expects About 4,000 Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Doses This Week
Massachusetts is expected to receive about 4,000 doses of one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, according to the state, after federal officials allowed health providers to resume its use following reports of a rare, though serious, blood-clotting condition. And CVS expects to make appointments through stores currently holding Johnson & Johnson vaccine supply starting this week, according to Joe Goode, a company spokesman Sunday. News of the expected Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses came as the state reported 77,703 new vaccinations Sunday, bringing the total number of administered doses to more than 5.6 million. That total included vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, as well as Johnson & Johnson. (Hilliard, 4/25)
In other news about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine —
New York Post: NIH Director Claims J&J Vaccine Has Lower Risk Than Aspirin
Blood-clotting episodes linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are extremely “rare” — and about a “thousand times less likely” than experiencing intestinal bleeding from taking aspirin, the head of the National Institutes of Health said on Sunday. Dr. Francis Collins said that the blood-clotting issues may sound “scary,” but the COVID-19 shot comes with a lower risk of adverse side effects than the over-the-counter medication. (Salo, 4/25)
The Washington Post: Vaccine Maker Emergent's CEO Sold $10 Million In Stock Before Company Ruined Johnson & Johnson Doses
The stock price of government contractor Emergent BioSolutions has fallen sharply since the disclosure at the end of March that production problems at the firm’s plant in Baltimore had ruined 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. Since then, AstraZeneca moved production of its own vaccine out of the facility, and Emergent temporarily halted new production there altogether. Those developments came after Emergent’s stock price had tumbled on Feb. 19, following the company’s published financial results. Emergent stock has fallen since mid-February to about $62 a share from $125 a share, or just more than 50 percent. (Swaine, 4/25)
San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Reports A Bay Area Man Got Blood Clot After Receiving Johnson & Johnson Vaccination
Two days after federal regulators lifted the temporary nationwide pause on administering Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, UCSF on Sunday reported the first known case of a male in the United States developing a clot after receiving the shot. All 15 similar cases the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had learned about and examined — after they emerged from about 7 million Johnson & Johnson shots administered — involved women who developed rare blood clots after their vaccinations. The UCSF case was a Bay Area resident in his early 30s who got a clot in his leg and was hospitalized, officials said. (Dineen, 4/25)
Bangor Daily News: Maine Sees Large Dip In COVID-19 Vaccinations Linked To 11-Day J&J Pause
Maine saw a 20 percent decrease in weekly COVID-19 vaccinations this week, a development that will challenge public health officials as they pursue more flexible options. The vaccination effort is slowing as more doses and ways to get vaccinated have become available. States, including Maine, opened up vaccines to the general public, creating an initial burst of interest. That was then complicated by a federal pause on the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, an option that was heralded as a way to solve access issues. (Andrews and Piper, 4/25)
