johnsonandjohnsonvaccine

The Johnson &Johnson vaccine has come under scrutiny in the United States and the Center for Disease Control recommends that other vaccines be used after experts cited evidence of a rare blood clot in the brain that resulted in deaths in the past year.

The big picture

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine has been advertised as a one-shot vaccine in the fight against COVID-19. However, it remains the least popular vaccine around the world as most people prefer Pfizer, Moderna and Astra Zeneca vaccines due to safety concerns.

Nonetheless, millions of people have been vaccinated with the J&J vaccine.

In recent days, before CDC’s recommendation, it was suggested that a booster shot of the J&J booster be given to improve protection for people who had received the Pfizer or Moderna shot.

CDC is depending on data that showed nine people died as a result of the J&J shot and 54 people hospitalized. The bloodclotting risk seems greater among women between the ages 30 and 49 years old — an estimated 1 in 100,000 who had received the shot.

Symptoms occurred nine days after vaccination in the affected cases.

Why it matters

More than 150,000 people have been vaccinated in the Bahamas, which includes people who have received the J&J shot. It has been pushed in the country’s vaccination campaign and even more so as the Omicron variant raises alarm in the UK and the USA.

Driving Force

CDC stopped short of halting the use of the vaccine as blood clotting cases are rare. The health board prefers that people use other vaccines first and the vaccine be used as an option for people who are “unable or unwilling” to receive the other vaccines.

Health officials in South Africa said no one has been negatively affected by the J&J vaccine.

It remains to be seen what stance the Bahamian government will take.

Foreign travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and tested for COVID-19 according to new rules established by the Biden administration.

The new system will be implemented in early November when Bahamians and other international travelers will only be allowed to fly to the US if they are fully vaccinated and able to show proof of vaccination before boarding a U.S bound flight.

White House Covid coordinator Jeffrey Zients said, “We will move to this much stricter global system, so we will have a consistent approach across all countries, it will require foreign nationals to be vaccinated, to prove they’re vaccinated, and then to go through the testing and contact tracing regiments.”

Foreign nationals will have to be tested three days before departure to the U.S. and show proof of a negative test.

The CDC will also require airlines to collect information for each U.S.-bound traveler, including their phone number and email address, to aid public health officials in contact tracing.

Why it matters

On the campaign trail, former Prime Minister Hubert Minnis announced that the USA would soon require only fully vaccinated travelers to enter its borders. He admonished Bahamians to get fully vaccinated to be able to travel to the US.

The Bahamas has already secured three vaccines: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson.

State of play

The US has not yet stipulated what it constitutes as fully vaccinated and what vaccines will be qualified for entry.

The new policy applies only to air travel.

38,400 doses of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the country on Thursday morning.

It is one of three vaccines secured by the government to inoculate the population against COVID-19.

To date, the government has secured over 550,000 doses of vaccines which include AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

The J&J vaccine is different from other vaccines in that it requires a single shot of the vaccine, while others require two shots against the virus.

How Well the J&J Vaccine Works

The J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine was 66.3% effective in clinical trials (efficacy) at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in people who received the vaccine and had no evidence of being previously infected. People had the most protection 2 weeks after getting vaccinated.

In the clinical trials, the vaccine had high efficacy at preventing hospitalization and death in people who did get sick. No one who got COVID-19 at least 4 weeks after receiving the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine had to be hospitalized.

As countries around the world clamor for access to vaccines for their population, Belgium’s budget state secretary, Eva De Bleeker, used Twitter to post a price list of the leading vaccines. But she quickly deleted the post before it was screen-shot and shared.

Why it matters

The price of COVID19 vaccines is considered a “commercial secret.” In fact, Pfizer complained that the Belgian minister violated its confidentiality. The company said, “These prices are covered by a confidentiality clause in the contract with the European Commission,” said Elisabeth Schraepen, the US drugmaker’s spokeswoman for the Benelux region to the Belgian daily Le Soir.

Driving the news

The price list shows that Moderna is the most expensive of the leading six vaccinations, while Oxford/AstraZeneca is the least expensive. Other countries can now negotiate a better deal with the pharmaceutical companies since the release of these details.

This is the list of what the EU is paying, that was shared via Twitter:

• Oxford/AstraZeneca: €1.78 (£1.61)= $2.36 ($2.14)
• Johnson & Johnson: $8.50 (£6.30)= $11.28 ($8.36)
• Sanofi/GSK: €7.56 = $10.03
• Pfizer/BioNTech: €12= $15.92
• CureVac: €10=$13.27
• Moderna: $18= $23.88

Worth noting

Nearly three weeks ago, Minister of Health Renward Wells expressed a preference for the Oxford and Moderna vaccines. However, he said if the country is able to access the Pfizer vaccine first, then “we’ll go with that.”

Wells revealed to the Nassau Guardian that the price of the Oxford vaccine will cost about £2, which equates to $4 per dose.

“I think the one through the COVAX facility is about $15 per dose,” Wells said.