Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
What You Need To Know About Blood Clots, Reasons Behind Halt
CNBC: What Johnson & Johnson Covid Vaccine’s Rare Blood Clotting Issues Means For You — And Symptoms To Look Out For
The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control recommended on Tuesday that states temporarily halt using Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine due to “extremely rare” blood clotting disorders that occurred in six women who received the vaccine in the U.S. For context, more than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the United States to date. (Stieg, 4/13)
CNN: If You've Recently Had The J&J Vaccine, Watch For These Rare Symptoms, CDC Says
Have you had the single-shot Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine within the last month? If you experience a severe headache that does not go away, significant abdominal or leg pain that does not subside, or increasing shortness of breath, health officials want you to call your doctor immediately. Those could be signs of an extremely rare, severe type of clot that may be linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine -- so rare that only six cases have been reported in the United States out of the approximately 7 million Johnson & Johnson doses administered to date. (LaMotte, 4/14)
NPR: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine And Blood Clots: What You Need To Know
The FDA says the clots are a rare and severe type that happens in the blood supply that drains the brain. It's called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, or CVST, and it is being seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (a condition called thrombocytopenia). The symptoms of CVST vary, but they can include headache, blurred vision, fainting or loss of consciousness, loss of control over movement in part of the body and seizures. (Godoy and Harris, 4/13)
Worries grow about the impact on vaccine hesitancy—
KHN: 4 Things To Know About The J&J Covid Vaccine Pause
The messaging surrounding vaccine safety and efficacy may mean as much as the science. That was true when the first covid vaccines were introduced in December at hospitals and nursing homes and even more so after the federal government on Tuesday paused the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after reports of extremely rare but very serious side effects emerged. Most health experts largely applauded the government for its decision, saying it showed regulators making vaccine safety their top priority. (Galewitz, 4/14)
Bloomberg: J&J Covid Vaccine Pause Risks Hesitancy Even As U.S. Sees Ample Supply Of Shots
The sidelining of J&J, however temporary, leaves the U.S. with two other shots that already made up the bulk of its vaccination campaign -- from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. Vaccines from those two companies account for 95% of the shots allocated in the U.S. this week. Pfizer’s top executive said Tuesday that the company would speed up promised deliveries of its shots to the U.S. in coming weeks. (Wingrove and LaVito, 4/13)
Axios: The New Vaccine Threat Is Fear Itself
The FDA’s decision to pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine has set off a chain reaction of fear — about the safety of the vaccine, and about whether the FDA is overreacting — that's causing unnecessary drama just as the vaccine effort is finally picking up speed. Throughout the pandemic, the public and the media, and sometimes even regulators, have struggled to keep risks in perspective — to acknowledge them without exaggerating them, and to avoid downplaying them because other people will exaggerate them. (Baker, 4/14)
NBC News: Johnson & Johnson Pause Is Bad News At A Crucial Time For Biden's Vaccination Efforts
But on Tuesday morning, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine became the focus of international scrutiny after federal health authorities recommended pausing its use after six women ages 18 to 48 developed a very rare type of blood clot in the brain after they got the shots. A review from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration is expected in the coming days. And while White House officials have stressed that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will help pick up the slack, it's the kind of jarring news that some public health experts worry could deepen suspicions among people who are already skeptical of vaccines and introduce new uncertainties for those who might be on the fence at a precarious time when new cases are surging in many states. (Chow, Ingram and Zadrozny, 4/14)
More on the science —
Stat: In Puzzle Of Rare Blood Clots And Covid Vaccines, Researchers See Clues
A week after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, a 37-year-old woman in Norway went to the emergency department with fever and persistent headaches. A CAT scan of her head showed a blood clot in blood vessels involved in draining the brain, but her levels of platelets, involved in clotting, were low. She was treated with platelet infusions and a blood thinner, but had a bleed in her brain the next day. She underwent surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain but died two days later. (Herper, 4/13)
The Wall Street Journal: J&J Covid-19 Vaccine Pause Spotlights Science Of Rare Clotting Disorder
Scientists are racing to gain a better understanding of a rare blood-clotting disorder that affected six recipients of Johnson & Johnson’s JNJ -1.34% Covid-19 vaccine and led health authorities on Tuesday to recommend a pause in its use. “It is quite a rare disease, and an unusual manifestation of abnormal blood clotting in the body, but it is very serious,” Thomas Oxley, an interventional neurologist and stroke expert at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, said of the clotting disorder. The six people in the U.S. known to have been affected by the disorder after vaccination are among almost seven million Americans to have received the vaccine. (Hernandez and Abbott, 4/13)
