In the USA, the vaccine from the domestic manufacturer Johnson & Johnson is said to be something of the last choice in the future. In a concise statement, the state health agency, the CDC, recommended Thursday that the other two approved vaccines – Pfizer and Moderna products – should be given preference. However, the vaccine is still unrestrictedly available to those who reject the two mRNA vaccines. Because, as the authority emphasized: In view of the current situation, every vaccine is better than none.
With this recommendation, the CDC followed the unanimous advice of its panel of experts, which, among other things, had appealed to the risk of special thromboses. These blood clots, called TTS, which are associated with a drop in blood platelets, were also recorded after the Astra-Zeneca vaccine was administered. Both are so-called vector vaccines that use a harmless virus to smuggle genetic information from the coronavirus into human cells.
A total of 54 TTS cases were observed in the USA between March and August 2021 after vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Women between the ages of 30 and 49 were most commonly affected. Seven women and two men died. Measured against the more than 14 million doses administered, this results in a risk of death of only 0.00006 percent. On the other hand, there are enough alternatives available in the USA with the mRNA vaccines that are even safer. The fact that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is less effective than that of competing products also influenced the decision. The Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) puts the effectiveness against Covid 19 diseases at a maximum of 70 percent.
The US recommendation is unlikely to have much impact on the vaccination campaign in the country or in Germany. In any case, the vaccine is only rarely used in the USA as well as in the Federal Republic of Germany. In this country around 3.5 million doses have been inoculated so far. More than 26 million cans had been ordered for the fourth quarter of 2021. The federal government donated them completely to poorer countries.
The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) has long recommended that the US manufacturer’s vector vaccine only be used in people over the age of 60 and also cites the risk of thrombosis. According to the latest PEI safety report, 20 TTS cases had been detected after vaccination with Johnson & Johnson by the end of September. Five people died. This means that the rate of this side effect is lower than that of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been approved, according to which one syringe is sufficient for vaccination protection. In the meantime, however, the Stiko recommends improving protection with an mRNA vaccine just four weeks after this single dose. This week, however, the European Medicines Commission (EMA) announced that it also considers a Johnson & Johnson booster dose to be possible. It can be given to adults two months after the first injection at the earliest. The EMA relied on data according to which the booster significantly increases the amount of antibodies against Sars-CoV-2. The risk of blood clots or other rare side effects after the booster vaccination cannot currently be quantified and must be carefully monitored, it said. It is still open whether Stiko will follow the recommendation.