Vaccine Johnson & Johnson awaits US judgment ‘fate’

Countries that have responded differently to incidents of COVID-19 vaccine side effects, especially Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines, are suspected of causing blood clots. But overall, experts once again affirm the superior benefits of vaccines in the context of a complex epidemic.
Wait for the fate of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be decided

COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. Photo: AFP / VNA On April 13, US federal health authorities recommended to suspend the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for “cautious” reasons, awaiting the results of investigating the possible link between the vaccination. this with thrombotic side effect. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are reviewing six cases of thrombosis following the vaccination. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, on April 15, US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci hopes that US regulators will soon make a quick decision on resuming Johnson & Johnson’s vaccination, bringing the vaccine back. immunization program. The day before, the US CDC advisory committee postponed at least a week to vote on whether to resume use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to wait for more data on thrombotic risks. Mr. Fauci feared that the prolonged delay of the vaccine could affect people’s hesitancy. “I think we need to continue to emphasize that this is a very effective and usable vaccine that is very, very valuable in a global context,” he said. Following the US, some countries have made similar moves with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine
On April 13, the South African Ministry of Health announced it had suspended the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the country’s vaccination program, although South Africa has not received a report related to coagulation after 290,000 people in the country. has received the COVID-19 vaccine from the brands. Two weeks ago, South Africa licensed the use of vacicne Johnson & Johnson and so far only vaccinated this vaccine to health workers in the study framework. Before the above developments, Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said that the country has not decided whether to launch the Johnson & Johnson vaccine injection this week or not. He stated that the Netherlands will wait for information from the European Pharmaceutical Authority (EMA) before making a decision. In contrast, some countries continue to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Belgium has said it will not stop the vaccination at this stage. Poland started to vaccinate Johnson & Johnson when the government confirmed that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. Meanwhile, Spanish officials have not received the notice of stopping the Johnson & Johnson vaccination. For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) says it is monitoring global data of various reports to see if similar cases occur elsewhere, and it will take time. Time to evaluate vaccine data from Johnson & Johnson. Denmark completely discontinues the AstraZaneca vaccine; Thailand is still considered the mainstay Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-O-Cha (middle) was vaccinated against COVID-19 by AstraZeneca company in Bangkok, on March 16, 2021. Photo: AFP / VNA Before the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the AstraZeneca vaccine was also in the same situation. The AstraZeneca vaccine is suspected of causing thrombosis, causing a series of European countries to suspend use, despite WHO recommendations. Recently, on April 14, Denmark became the first European country to permanently stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine due to concerns about rare blood clotting side effects. Denmark thinks that AstraZeneca’s vaccine may not be needed because it has managed the COVID-19 pandemic and may just depend on the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. Before that, from March 11, Denmark, along with Iceland and Norway, have suspended the use of this vaccine. Followed by a number of other European countries, including France, Germany and Italy. Federal Health Ministers and states in Germany unanimously recommend a second shot after getting the first shot with the AstraZeneca vaccine, under which one shot of the preparation is given to those under 60 years of age. This could be a second shot with another vaccine. In Bulgaria, Health Minister Kostadin Angelov also announced that the launch of AstraZeneca’s vaccine in the country could be stopped because people are not interested. The European Drug Administration – the European Union’s (EU) drug regulator – then recommended that countries continue to use vaccines as the benefits of vaccines far outweigh any potential risks. hidden from humans. Last week, the European pharmaceutical regulator listed clotting as an extremely rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Some countries have started to re-use the vaccine after the suspension, but limited in the number of people vaccinated. As is the case in the UK, the country says it will offer another vaccine for people under the age of 30. While some countries are vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Thailand Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced that the AstraZeneca vaccine will be the mainstay of the Southeast Asian country’s COVID-19 vaccination program. Mr. Anutin confirmed that Thailand has the expertise to closely monitor vaccine information and the decision is based on science. Thailand’s vaccination campaign mainly relies on domestically produced AstraZeneca vaccine and 2 million doses of Chinese vaccine to vaccinate about 35 million people, equivalent to 50% of the population – Thailand’s goal. must be reached by the end of 2021. Along with Thailand, Korea has decided to continue to vaccinate AstraZeneca for those who qualify. People younger than 30 years of age have not yet received the vaccine because the risk of blood clots outweighs the benefit of the vaccination. Continued reassurance and investigation of coagulation phenomenon after vaccination Health care workers give COVID-19 vaccine to people in Llanelli, South Wales (UK), April 9, 2021. Photo: AFP / VNA While countries are moving differently with the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines, WHO continues to assert the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination. On April 15, WHO Director in Europe Hans Kluge reaffirmed that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks. “Make it clear that there is no doubt that the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective in reducing hospital admissions for COVID-19 and preventing severe illness that leads to death. The WHO has recommended this vaccine as soon as possible,” he said. as possible for adults to increase resistance to the SARS-CoV-2 virus “. WHO officials also pointed out that out of the 200 million people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine, there are only a few rare cases of a blood clotting disorder. He emphasized that the risk of blood clots in patients with COVID-19 is much higher than in those receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. A study by scientists at the University of Oxford UK showed that COVID-19 patients have a higher risk of developing blood clots in the brain than those vaccinated against the disease. Data from over 500,000 patients with COVID-19 show that blood clotting occurs at an incidence of 39 out of 1,000,000 patients. Of the more than 480,000 people who received the COVID-19 vaccine made by BioNTech / Pfizer or Moderna, the incidence of coagulation was 4 / 1,000,000, while the rate was slightly higher for those receiving the vaccine. AstraZeneca – about 5 / 1,000,000 after the first injection. After the coagulation incident with the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines, the researchers found that this rare side effect only occurs with vaccines using adeno virus vector technology (the virus that causes the common cold). There has been no record of coagulation in people who received the vaccine using other technologies from Pfizer and Moderna. However, the link between the technology using adeno virus vectors and coagulation is only a simple guess, there is no evidence. Russian vaccine has not caused any blood clotting cases and is increasingly “expensive”. Vaccine Sputnik V in Moscow, Russia. Photo: AFP / VNA When Western countries investigated blood clotting side effects, the Gamaleya Research Institute – which develops the Russian vaccine Sputnik V – said the vaccine has not caused any adverse reactions related to blood clotting. According to the Gamaleya Institute, there is no reason to equate the safety of the Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca vaccines with Sputnik V. All three of these vaccines are vector-based, using the adeno virus to deliver the protein of SARS-CoV- 2 into human cells, helping to stimulate the immune system’s response. However, all three manufacturers use different structures and technologies in vaccine formulation. Iran is the latest country to order Russian vaccines. Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali confirmed that the contract to buy 60 million doses of Sputnik V has been signed and completed, enough to give 2 doses to 30 million people. Ambassador Kazem Jalali also announced that Iran will receive the vaccine by the end of 2021. Russia is also transferring technology to produce this vaccine to a number of countries. Most recently, the Korean company ISU Abxis on April 15 announced an agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on the technology transfer and production of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for Korean companies. . It is expected that the production of vaccine trials will soon be deployed at a facility in Yongin, south of Seoul. The Russian Sputnik V vaccine is the second most popular vaccine in the world approved for use by national pharmaceutical regulators.