So what happens to all who have appointments and will we push that April 19 date ahead
I’m reading it’s a rare blood clot most doctors don’t know how to treat. It has happened six times. All women. All within 2 weeks. Joshua, is that what you have learned also?
I didn’t listen to Baker yesterday so do not know if he mentioned it.
I was hoping when I make my I appointment I was going to get the Johnson and Johnson and go once and be done with it.
I think that a lot of people felt that way. It is a more natural type of vaccine thank the mRNA. I’ve just always felt it was a bit too rushed. And I know the others were rushed also but to me there has been a difference.
Just reading about J&J pause now. The J&J and Astra Zeneca vaccines are traditional adenovirus-activated agents. I believe they’re both still very safe and that risk of clotting is minimal, and certainly less than the risk of death due to Covid-19. Nevertheless, I understand the need to study this in detail. It’s going to hamper efforts to ramp up vaccinations in the U.S. and elsewhere. It’s also going to do damage to vaccine uptake generally.
Meanwhile, the UK is emerging from its very long and particularly stringent lockdown in very good shape. It primarily uses Astra Zeneca’s vaccine.
The lockdown drove down cases and the extraordinarily efficient vaccine roll-out accelerated the decline. A one-two punch.
A new study in Lancet shows that B117 is NOT more lethal than the original wild type. This doesn’t mean that it’s less lethal necessarily, because there are several competing studies that demonstrate it is more lethal. Nevertheless, it’s important to monitor this.
Globally, it appears that we’re still in the ascendant phase in terms of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. I’m curious to see today’s worldwide numbers and the ones that come out later this week. I’m hoping we reach a peak or start descending soon, globally.
Thank you, Joshua. I can say with certainty that as of now I would not get the vaccine if AZ or JJ were my only choices. I have never been a fan of Russian roulette. And I surely don’t fault anyone for thinking differently. Interesting that it is just women in the 18-48 age group…..so far.
All that said, I am aware something can show up with the mRNA vaccines so apparently I am not as risk adverse as I think I am 🙂 🙂
Baker has pushed JJ from the start. And he really needs to stop saying we are number one. It gets old and it ain’t the truth according to this article.
Completely understand your thoughts on this, Vicki.
I also agree that ultimately these are personal decisions – which vaccine to take if you have a choice.
Baker is banking on vaccines alone doing the job. There essentially is very little mitigation at this point in Massachusetts or elsewhere. He has a problem if the J&J supply dries up – as it is due to factory issues. And he has a compounded problem with the J&J pause. It will not only reduce the supply, it will also cause some hesitancy for all vaccines.
Still, Massachusetts is doing better than states in the Midwest. Let’s hope that continues.
I echo your thoughts re Baker. My BIL sent this from CA
Please note, I met Natasha Loder at a conference in Boston. She is a journalist at The Economist. Her attitude on this reflects a typically British position. It’s VERY utilitarian, much like the National Health Service: Greatest good for the greatest number – ignore outliers.
I am not saying I agree with this sentiment. But, it explains why Britain does not pause, while the EU and now US do pause. We are clearly more concerned with outliers, especially when there is a risk of death involved.
Walgreens is cancelling all week. Feeling is other smaller sites will follow suit. Makes sense to me
All JJ. Sorry
Glad am getting the Pfizer. So far it seems the safest (and plentiful) other than some very minor side effects. Looking forward to next Thursday for #2.
You are correct about the other facilities. The CVS site has:
“Per CDC/FDA guidance, we are pausing the use of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine until further notice.”
Thank you SClarke.
Joshua, are there current medications available that can further prevent blood clots? I was wondering if those who get the AZ or J&J concerned about them could be put on those meds by their doctor temporarily (7-10 days?) until the “threat” has passed.
Joshua?
Excellent question, Philip. Alas, as a non-clinician I dare not answer. I can say this. Blood thinners – like any medication – have risks associated with them. You don’t want to simply prescribe prophylactically, if you haven’t done a proper assessment of each individual patient. You could create new risks by doing blanket prescriptions of blood thinners for those taking AZ and J&J vaccines. That’s my educated guess, but as a non-expert I defer to clinicians.
I’ve heard aspirin mentioned a few times but it was stressed that it was just a thought and not yet determined.
I want to emphasize that I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE SOURCE OF THIS. Joshua or others, perhaps you are. I did find it interesting
It does show that this appeared in the trials……a bit more for actual vaccine but also with placebo. They didn’t have enough information to form a conclusion. I’m not even going to mention the obvious with that comment.
Vicki, you’re right that aspirin functions as a blood thinner. But, believe it or not, it’s actually a relatively risky drug for some: GI bleeds, for example.
I do know that. I can’t take baby aspirin because I have elevated uric acid levels. Hence kidney stones and gout. No one should take any meds without his pcp advice
France continues to see peak numbers of cases. Good thing is the number isn’t going up further. Bad news is the peak is very high. ICUs continue to fill up. France is now totally barring all flights from Brazil. No exceptions.
Other European countries appear to have crested and are declining somewhat. But it’s too early to tell if this is temporary. I hope it’s a decreasing trend. Stay tuned.
Canada is in serious trouble in Ontario and British Columbia.
Uruguay is seeing exponential growth in cases. Brazil has peaked (~3,200 deaths per day), but is still in the throes of its worst wave. Similarly, India is peaking and may still rise further, closing in on 1,000 deaths per day.
I’m getting a lot of pushback from some people on the need for a federally backed vaccine passport or proof of vaccination. I just see this as a facing reality thing; especially for international travel. The US might not want to have a national vaccine pass, but for anyone going abroad it will be mandatory for entry in many countries. There is no question in my mind that this will happen. Exemptions will be permitted, of course. And there may still be ways of getting around a vaccination mandate by demonstrating negative tests. But in those instances most countries will enforce a mandatory quarantine for the foreseeable future, and such quarantines are nothing like the ones we pretended to have in the States.
Judging from the vaccination card I have, which is handwritten (!!), this will not be sufficient for entry to many countries, like the UK and Israel. We will be needing either a digital pass of some sort, or a paper pass with a code that can be scanned by immigration authorities. I’m perplexed why the Biden Administration is balking at doing this for the purposes of facilitating international travel.
And I bet the U.S. is nowhere near Northern Ireland even at 63%.
This should be a big opportunity for Pfizer to really step up its game on production and literally take over the market. They should offer its vaccine to all vaccination sites across the U.S.
Could Pfizer give us the herd immunity we as humans need by year’s end?
There is good news to report. Israel is approaching herd immunity. I also think the U.K. will soon approach herd immunity. Tremendously efficient vaccination drives in those two countries.
We’re clearly not at or near herd immunity. U.S. case numbers are stubbornly high and increasing, test positivity is rising slightly, and hospitalizations are increasing. Deaths today across the nation will come in at 900-950. Massachusetts appears to have plateaued and not gotten worse, which is good.
Good news Joshua. Thanks as always for your posts.
C-19 for 4-14 is ready.
Comments are closed.
Your no-hype southeastern New England weather blog!
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/us/politics/johnson-johnson-vaccine-blood-clots-fda-cdc.html
So what happens to all who have appointments and will we push that April 19 date ahead
I’m reading it’s a rare blood clot most doctors don’t know how to treat. It has happened six times. All women. All within 2 weeks. Joshua, is that what you have learned also?
I didn’t listen to Baker yesterday so do not know if he mentioned it.
Press conf at 10:00
https://www.youtube.com/USFoodandDrugAdmin
I was hoping when I make my I appointment I was going to get the Johnson and Johnson and go once and be done with it.
I think that a lot of people felt that way. It is a more natural type of vaccine thank the mRNA. I’ve just always felt it was a bit too rushed. And I know the others were rushed also but to me there has been a difference.
Just reading about J&J pause now. The J&J and Astra Zeneca vaccines are traditional adenovirus-activated agents. I believe they’re both still very safe and that risk of clotting is minimal, and certainly less than the risk of death due to Covid-19. Nevertheless, I understand the need to study this in detail. It’s going to hamper efforts to ramp up vaccinations in the U.S. and elsewhere. It’s also going to do damage to vaccine uptake generally.
Meanwhile, the UK is emerging from its very long and particularly stringent lockdown in very good shape. It primarily uses Astra Zeneca’s vaccine.
The lockdown drove down cases and the extraordinarily efficient vaccine roll-out accelerated the decline. A one-two punch.
A new study in Lancet shows that B117 is NOT more lethal than the original wild type. This doesn’t mean that it’s less lethal necessarily, because there are several competing studies that demonstrate it is more lethal. Nevertheless, it’s important to monitor this.
Globally, it appears that we’re still in the ascendant phase in terms of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. I’m curious to see today’s worldwide numbers and the ones that come out later this week. I’m hoping we reach a peak or start descending soon, globally.
Thank you, Joshua. I can say with certainty that as of now I would not get the vaccine if AZ or JJ were my only choices. I have never been a fan of Russian roulette. And I surely don’t fault anyone for thinking differently. Interesting that it is just women in the 18-48 age group…..so far.
All that said, I am aware something can show up with the mRNA vaccines so apparently I am not as risk adverse as I think I am 🙂 🙂
Baker has pushed JJ from the start. And he really needs to stop saying we are number one. It gets old and it ain’t the truth according to this article.
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/baker-to-talk-with-feds-tuesday-about-jj-vaccines/2353312/
I do plan to listen to the FDA at 10:00
Completely understand your thoughts on this, Vicki.
I also agree that ultimately these are personal decisions – which vaccine to take if you have a choice.
Baker is banking on vaccines alone doing the job. There essentially is very little mitigation at this point in Massachusetts or elsewhere. He has a problem if the J&J supply dries up – as it is due to factory issues. And he has a compounded problem with the J&J pause. It will not only reduce the supply, it will also cause some hesitancy for all vaccines.
Still, Massachusetts is doing better than states in the Midwest. Let’s hope that continues.
I echo your thoughts re Baker. My BIL sent this from CA
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/07/us/california-lockdowns.html
This tweet sums up the British position on the vaccine risk/benefit calculus. https://twitter.com/natashaloder/status/1381965572208922626
Please note, I met Natasha Loder at a conference in Boston. She is a journalist at The Economist. Her attitude on this reflects a typically British position. It’s VERY utilitarian, much like the National Health Service: Greatest good for the greatest number – ignore outliers.
I am not saying I agree with this sentiment. But, it explains why Britain does not pause, while the EU and now US do pause. We are clearly more concerned with outliers, especially when there is a risk of death involved.
Walgreens is cancelling all week. Feeling is other smaller sites will follow suit. Makes sense to me
All JJ. Sorry
Glad am getting the Pfizer. So far it seems the safest (and plentiful) other than some very minor side effects. Looking forward to next Thursday for #2.
You are correct about the other facilities. The CVS site has:
“Per CDC/FDA guidance, we are pausing the use of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine until further notice.”
Thank you SClarke.
Joshua, are there current medications available that can further prevent blood clots? I was wondering if those who get the AZ or J&J concerned about them could be put on those meds by their doctor temporarily (7-10 days?) until the “threat” has passed.
Joshua?
Excellent question, Philip. Alas, as a non-clinician I dare not answer. I can say this. Blood thinners – like any medication – have risks associated with them. You don’t want to simply prescribe prophylactically, if you haven’t done a proper assessment of each individual patient. You could create new risks by doing blanket prescriptions of blood thinners for those taking AZ and J&J vaccines. That’s my educated guess, but as a non-expert I defer to clinicians.
I’ve heard aspirin mentioned a few times but it was stressed that it was just a thought and not yet determined.
I want to emphasize that I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE SOURCE OF THIS. Joshua or others, perhaps you are. I did find it interesting
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/j-and-j-questions-answered-from-a?fbclid=IwAR3e9ulh2WqjZlEu39AdfE3ruxT9Y3sAiYDbZ7rWVs-c37Ga2OsR9Gf4VFE
Unfortunately, I’m not familiar.
It does show that this appeared in the trials……a bit more for actual vaccine but also with placebo. They didn’t have enough information to form a conclusion. I’m not even going to mention the obvious with that comment.
Vicki, you’re right that aspirin functions as a blood thinner. But, believe it or not, it’s actually a relatively risky drug for some: GI bleeds, for example.
I do know that. I can’t take baby aspirin because I have elevated uric acid levels. Hence kidney stones and gout. No one should take any meds without his pcp advice
France continues to see peak numbers of cases. Good thing is the number isn’t going up further. Bad news is the peak is very high. ICUs continue to fill up. France is now totally barring all flights from Brazil. No exceptions.
Other European countries appear to have crested and are declining somewhat. But it’s too early to tell if this is temporary. I hope it’s a decreasing trend. Stay tuned.
Canada is in serious trouble in Ontario and British Columbia.
Uruguay is seeing exponential growth in cases. Brazil has peaked (~3,200 deaths per day), but is still in the throes of its worst wave. Similarly, India is peaking and may still rise further, closing in on 1,000 deaths per day.
I’m getting a lot of pushback from some people on the need for a federally backed vaccine passport or proof of vaccination. I just see this as a facing reality thing; especially for international travel. The US might not want to have a national vaccine pass, but for anyone going abroad it will be mandatory for entry in many countries. There is no question in my mind that this will happen. Exemptions will be permitted, of course. And there may still be ways of getting around a vaccination mandate by demonstrating negative tests. But in those instances most countries will enforce a mandatory quarantine for the foreseeable future, and such quarantines are nothing like the ones we pretended to have in the States.
Judging from the vaccination card I have, which is handwritten (!!), this will not be sufficient for entry to many countries, like the UK and Israel. We will be needing either a digital pass of some sort, or a paper pass with a code that can be scanned by immigration authorities. I’m perplexed why the Biden Administration is balking at doing this for the purposes of facilitating international travel.
Want to talk efficient. Good lord the British are efficient when they want to be. 94% (not a typo) of people aged 50 and above have had at least 1 dose of vaccine (in most cases the vaccine was Astra Zeneca). https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/A148/production/_117888214_optimised-vaccine_doses_eng_over508apr-nc.png
And I bet the U.S. is nowhere near Northern Ireland even at 63%.
This should be a big opportunity for Pfizer to really step up its game on production and literally take over the market. They should offer its vaccine to all vaccination sites across the U.S.
Could Pfizer give us the herd immunity we as humans need by year’s end?
Ontario, in particular, Greater Toronto, is experiencing a bad surge. https://twitter.com/KamilKaramali/status/1382019306431643648/photo/1
Philip, you were onto something – prescient – when you mentioned Pfizer ramping up production. It’s precisely what the company will be doing: https://twitter.com/AlbertBourla/status/1382064225229619202
Nice call, Philip. They heard you.
There is good news to report. Israel is approaching herd immunity. I also think the U.K. will soon approach herd immunity. Tremendously efficient vaccination drives in those two countries.
We’re clearly not at or near herd immunity. U.S. case numbers are stubbornly high and increasing, test positivity is rising slightly, and hospitalizations are increasing. Deaths today across the nation will come in at 900-950. Massachusetts appears to have plateaued and not gotten worse, which is good.
Good news Joshua. Thanks as always for your posts.
C-19 for 4-14 is ready.