This post originally written by WJBR Digital Production Intern, Elyse DiPisa. DiPisa is a sophomore Media Communications student at the University of Delaware from Montgomery County, PA. Along with being a Digital Content Intern for WJBR, Elyse also works for the university’s Student Television Network 49 News Program and as a tour guide for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
After a halt in administering the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccination, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey health officials have deemed it safe to resume its administration.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention placed an 11-day pause on the vaccine after seeing a few rare, but serious blood-clots appear in women after receiving the vaccination.
The Food and Drug Administration and CDC have both investigated these reported issues and declared that the benefits of the vaccine still outweigh the potential uncommon risks, and have since made revisions to the vaccination’s warnings to include this in order to inform recipients.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the FDA has issued these updated information guides on the J&J vaccine about this risk of severe, but rare, blood-clotting that has affected mainly women under 50 years of age. They stated the overall risk was found to be 1.9 per 1 million individuals; this risk is approximately 3.5 times higher for women between the ages of 18 and 49.
Other state’s health department officials – including Florida, Georgia, New York, and Arizona – have also given the green light for J&J vaccines to be administered to individuals once again.
As opposed to Moderna and Pfizer’s two doses, the Johnson and Johnson single-dose vaccine has an upper hand. Many people find the “one and done” aspect of the J&J vaccine more appealing. The single dose is also beneficial for individuals in communities who may find it difficult to receive or schedule an appointment for another dose of the vaccine. The J&J shot itself is also more easily refrigerated and can be stored for longer periods according to the Wall Street Journal.
Health officials suggest that individuals receive whichever COVID-19 vaccine is available to them at the time they schedule a vaccination appointment.