Info Magzine: Pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine; Philip funeral restrictions

A pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine ought to proceed till extra is thought a couple of uncommon vaccine aspect impact, a federal advisory committee determined Wednesday.

The committee will meet once more inside every week to ten days to guage extra information that’s anticipated to grow to be accessible.

The extraordinarily uncommon blood clots have been reported in seven of the 7.2 million Americans who’ve gotten the J&J vaccine. The current six instances have been reported in ladies ages 18 to 48, and signs occurred six to 13 days after vaccination. One lady died and three remained hospitalized.

There was some concern the pause would possibly hurt these most in want of the vaccine as J&J solely requires one shot and is simpler to retailer and transport than the opposite two approved vaccines. But the committee famous persevering with the pause wouldn’t considerably have an effect on the power to vaccinate Americans.

The J&J vaccine to date makes up lower than 5% of photographs administered within the United States. The two different vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna haven’t had such results.

Also within the information:

►The elements of the U.S. which might be excelling and people which might be battling vaccinations are beginning to seem like the nation’s political map: deeply divided between purple and blue states. Americans in “blue states” that lean Democratic seem like getting vaccinated at extra sturdy charges, whereas these in “red” Republican states appear to be extra hesitant.

►California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration stated Wednesday that the entire state’s colleges ought to reopen when the brand new educational 12 months begins subsequent fall, although his pointers stay merely an expectation relatively than a mandate.

►Michigan well being director Elizabeth Hertel traveled with household to Alabama for spring break final week regardless of her division’s steering to keep away from out-of-state journey whereas Michigan suffers a raging coronavirus outbreak.

►Puerto Rico broke its report for instances in every week and Michigan had its second worse week but over the final seven days, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Thirty-nine states noticed an increase in instances from the earlier seven-day interval.

►Attendance at Saturday’s funeral for Britain’s Prince Philip will probably be restricted to 30 mourners due to present coronavirus restrictions in England. Queen Elizabeth could also be required to take a seat alone, and company should be spaced 6 toes aside.

►Russian President Vladimir Putin stated Wednesday that he has acquired his second COVID-19 vaccine shot, three weeks after the primary dose. The Kremlin wouldn’t reveal which of the three Russian-developed vaccines the president has taken.

►Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has issued an govt order banning the event or use of vaccine passports in Montana.

►German well being authorities are recommending that folks youthful than 60 who’ve already acquired one shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine use a special vaccine for his or her second dose over considerations of blood clots.

►The NFL has laid out workforce pointers for COVID-19 vaccinations and is strongly urging franchises to have all employees vaccinated. Commissioner Roger Goodell advised groups in a memo to plan on utilizing stadiums or workforce headquarters as vaccination facilities for his or her gamers, staff and relations. Teams should replace the league weekly on vaccination figures.

📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has greater than 31.3 million confirmed coronavirus instances and a couple of.96 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The international totals: 137.5 million instances and greater than 563,000 million deaths. More than 245.36 million vaccine doses have been distributed within the U.S. and 192.28 million have been administered, according to the CDC.

📘 What we’re studying: What do I do if I’ve gotten the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 shot? Your questions, answered.

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Gym teacher one of many ladies who developed blood clots after J&J vaccine, firm says

One of the six ladies who developed an extraordinarily uncommon blood clotting dysfunction after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is a 26-year-old gym instructor from the New Jersey-Pennsylvania area, the pharmaceutical firm advised a federal advisory committee Wednesday.

Described as “overweight, but active,” the girl spent every week to 10 days within the hospital earlier than being discharged with a prescription for anticoagulant treatment, Dr. Aran Maree, the chief medical officer for the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, advised the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The lady went to the emergency room a couple of week after she acquired the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Maree stated. Neither she nor the hospital have been recognized. She was given Benadryl and the painkiller paracetamol, often known as acetaminophen, and despatched dwelling.

Later, diagnostic scans confirmed that she had a number of blood clots in main blood vessels in her mind, stomach and lungs, he stated. These are often called central venous sinus thrombosis, or a blood clot within the veins that drain blood from the mind; portal vein thrombosis, or a clot within the vein from the intestines to the liver; and pulmonary emboli or blockages in the arteries within the lungs.

– Lindy Washburn, NorthJersey.com

Pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine ought to have little long-term impact

The pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine might briefly disrupt each day doses throughout the nation however ought to have little long-term impact on the drive to finish the pandemic, the White COVID-19 response coordinator stated Wednesday.

“In the very short term we do expect some impact on daily averages as sites and appointments transition from Johnson & Johnson to Moderna and Pfizer vaccines,” Jeff Zients stated on the workforce’s thrice-weekly briefing. “However, I want to be clear that we have more than enough Pfizer and Moderna supplies to continue and even accelerate the current pace of vaccinations.”

Zients pressed the administration’s rivalry that the pause – introduced Tuesday – can have little impression within the effort to vaccinate the nation. He stated there may be lots Moderna and Pfizer vaccine to make up any shortfall of single-shot J&J vaccine. The U.S. is on observe to accumulate 600 million of double-shot doses from these firms by the tip of July, he stated.

EU bails on AstraZeneca in favor of Pfizer/BioNTech

The European Union introduced plans to barter an enormous contract extension for Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine because the 27-nation bloc’s religion in AstraZeneca’s vaccine wavers. America’s Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech would offer the EU with an additional 50 million doses within the 2nd quarter of this 12 months, making up for faltering deliveries of British-Swedish AstraZeneca following studies of uncommon blood clots in some recipients. The Johnson & Johnson jab, which makes use of the identical base know-how as AstraZeneca, is on “pause” within the U.S. due to uncommon blood clots, and EU deliveries have been suspended.

“We need to focus on technologies that have proven their worth,” stated EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Pfizer-BioNTech “has proven to be a reliable partner. It has delivered on its commitments, and it is responsive to our needs. This is to the immediate benefit of EU citizens.”

Many staff search modifications earlier than returning to workplaces after pandemic

Offices that shuttered through the COVID-19 pandemic are poised to reopen quickly as vaccines roll out throughout the nation. But many staff aren’t all in favour of returning to the identical work setting they left behind a 12 months in the past, in response to the seventh annual Bright Horizons Modern Family Index. They need their firms to supply extra companies for his or her youngsters. They anticipate flexibility of their work schedules. And in some situations they wish to work at home completely.

“We’ve been working from home or living at work,” says Maribeth Bearfield, Bright Horizons’ Chief Human Resource Officer. “I think employees are looking to their employers to provide more than they ever have before.”

– Charisse Jones

Could we save lives by assigning every American a spot in line for vaccines?

Imagine a components that might score each American’s unique risk of dying of COVID-19. People’s odds would decide their actual quantity in line for a vaccine. The algorithm would take note of your age, your race, your full medical historical past and each certainly one of your medical health insurance claims. You’d get an e mail, a textual content or a telephone name the week earlier than your vaccine appointment telling you the place and when to indicate up. If you turned down the shot, the subsequent in line would take your spot. The pandemic has introduced such micro-targeting far nearer to actuality than many would possibly guess.

“We do have the data, we do have the computational capacity,” stated Hossein Estiri, an assistant professor of drugs at Mass General and at Harvard who has labored on risk-based vaccine modeling. “It’s just that we haven’t figured out the politics to make this happen.” Read more here.

– Aleszu Bajak

Contributing: Kevin Johnson and Mike Stucka, USA TODAY; The Associated Press