J&J vaccine reviewed over rare blood clot links

[Circumlocutious]

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-09/eu-regulator-investigating-blood-clots-after-j-j-covid-vaccine

Four serious cases of unusual clots accompanied by low blood platelets, one of which was fatal, have emerged after immunization with the J&J shot, the European Medicines Agency said Friday.

Adenovirus technologies such as that used by AstraZeneca and others have been associated with clotting in other settings, so if this is the reason for the rare side effects observed with the Astra vaccine, shots from J&J, Sputnik and Chinese drugmaker CanSino Biologics Inc. would also be at risk, said Sam Fazeli, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.

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A shame as the one-shot J&J was positioned as the ideal vaccine for younger people. If this really is an issue with the adenovirus vector in general then the world will just have to reckon with the rare side effects (mRNA vaccines are not going to be globally accessible due to cost, transportation and storage difficulties).

Dr John Campbell (whose videos are excellent in general IMO) talked in his video yesterday about the AZ safety issues and asks whether it could be injection into blood vessels causing the problem, and whether asking the vaccinator to aspirate first is a precaution that should be taken

He asks the question at the end why the authorities are not changing the guidlines and asking vaccinators to aspirate as a precaution (as apparently they're doing in Denmark)

France, which had a slow start to its inoculation rollout, will make vaccinations with the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson jabs available to all citizens over the age of 55 on Monday, AFP reports.

Wonder whether it’s because of the suspected clots in j&j

Which vaccine did Macron (43) and his wife (67) have? I wonder if their choice will affect French public confidence in the different vaccines? He's not helped matters in an already vaccine hesitant country by initially banning AZ for over 55s. Now it's the other way round!

I still feel decisions are being guided by shortage of supply more than an extremely rare side effect that happens more commonly from covid itself.

Has macron had his? I know he said he’d have az if he could but that’s when it was for over 55s. The pm of France has had it

I assumed he'd had it but not sure now. I remember the French health minister (aged 40) because the media made a fuss of him getting it topless. I'm surprised Macron hasn't had it. France is a vaccine hesitant country - going through a bad third wave. I'd have thought it might help public confidence. Then again he'd probably get accused of queue jumping so maybe he has to wait.

Usa might pause vaccinating with j&j as they're finding more cases (not many)

If what the scientist are saying is true (that it's because of the type of vaccine > adenovirus) sputnik might have the same side effects as it's also this type. Is there any data of how many of this has Hungary used?

Just read in the Spanish news that J&J won't release their vaccines in Europe atm Cuz of what it's going on in usa, they were expecting to receive them this week

@EasterIssland

Usa might pause vaccinating with j&j as they're finding more cases (not many)

If what the scientist are saying is true (that it's because of the type of vaccine > adenovirus) sputnik might have the same side effects as it's also this type. Is there any data of how many of this has Hungary used?

Off the top of my head I think Sputnik uses a different vector. It’s hard without reliable data but Sputnik might hold the answer on how to reduce these instances.

@Cornettoninja yes, all the vv vaccines use different adenoviruses. I think only AZ/Oxford used a non-human chimp version because they were worried about inherent immunity to human adenoviruses (which as an aside seems to be what has happened in Chile with Sinovac).

Just a quick google shows J&J and Sputnik both using AD26 though?

Ah Sputnik is AD26 in dose 1, and AD5 in does 2. Clever!

@btwwhichonespink I was with you until you googled but then you lost me!

No matter, you’re using encouraging punctuation so I’m happy!

I received the J&J vaccine on Saturday. I am not worried in the least but will keep an eye out for severe headache, leg pain or shortness of breath.

Why are we hearing a bit more about the extreme cases in the USA whereas the UK cases seem to be cloaked in a bit of secrecy. Is it down to patient confidentiality? (Or am I looking in the wrong place?)

@LizzieMacQueen

Why are we hearing a bit more about the extreme cases in the USA whereas the UK cases seem to be cloaked in a bit of secrecy. Is it down to patient confidentiality? (Or am I looking in the wrong place?)

The powers that be worry we might not get it if they tell us it could be dangerous, unlike other countries. Seems to be a UK thing to suppress information about side effects and relentlessly push. push, push them on people.

Lots of people were asking why the public weren't told about the problems with Pandemrix when they became apparent, for example.

Could I ask to have the injection in my thigh instead? I am early 30s and have very slim arms.

We don't hear about transmissions either.

Could I ask to have the injection in my thigh instead? I am early 30s and have very slim arms

I was wondering about this too. But then, I also think that if the vaccinator is more used to applying it in the arm, they may struggle more with the thigh and perhaps make a mistake there?

EMA has came up with same conclusions for j&j as for AZ, can cause clots mainly in below 60s women,
Will be good to see what does Spain/france/germany / Italy do now regarding this vaccine

But Covid itself can cause clots (and strokes) in people under 60. A study found the chances of a clot are 8 times higher from covid than from the vaccines.

news.sky.com/story/covid-19-risk-of-blood-clot-after-coronavirus-is-eight-times-higher-than-after-oxford-astrazeneca-vaccine-study-12276088

Around a third of reports of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) after COVID-19 infection were in people under 30.

www.hriuk.org/health/your-health/lifestyle/people-with-coronavirus-are-at-risk-of-blood-clots-and-strokes

However, higher rates of strokes in patients with COVID-19 is somewhat unusual because it also seems to be happening in people under 50 years of age, with no other risk factors for stroke.

Of course @Tealightsandd I only mentioned lets see what these countries do as they're the ones that have limited the usage of AZ so Far to over 60s. I've Spanish friends who wouldn't mind being vaccinated by any vaccine but if they limit j&j to over 60s only like AZ then they might need to wait longer for their vaccination as they can't have az nor j&j (right now Spain is vaccinating 60+ so not sure what they'd do with j&j if limited to over 60s)

Sorry @EasterIssland
I didn't mean to jump on you. You're right it will be interesting to see what they decide. Maybe like Denmark they'll consider letting people have AZ (or J&J) if they prefer that over waiting?