CDC Recommends Pfizer and Modern Vaccines Over J&J For This Reason

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that people choose the Pfizer and Modern Covid vaccines over the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to rare blood clot cases.

The CDC has confirmed 54 cases of people developing blood clots and showing low blood platelet levels following J&J vaccination. The new condition is called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS, which mostly affects younger women.

All of the patients has been hospitalized, nine people died, and 36 were treated in intensive care. Seven of the patients who died were women and two were men, with a median age of 45. Most of the people who died had underlying health conditions such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes.

In a statement Thursday evening, the CDC said the U.S. has an abundant supply of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The CDC however did emphasize that people who are unwilling or unable to receive Pfizer and Moderna shots will still have access to the J&J vaccine.

The agency’s expert vaccine panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, voted unanimously in favor of the recommendation on Thursday.
Hours later, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky gave her endorsement.

“Today’s updated recommendation emphasizes CDC’s commitment to provide real-time scientific information to the American public,” Walensky said.

“The TTS case reporting rates following Janssen vaccines is higher than previous estimates in men as well as women in a wider age range,” Dr. Keipp Talbot, chair of the CDC’s vaccine and safety subgroup, told the advisory panel. Janssen is J&J’s vaccines division.

“We’ve been struck on reviewing these cases by how rapidly patient status deteriorates and results in death,” Dr. Isaac See of the CDC’s vaccine safety team told the advisory panel.

Johnson & Johnson’s Penny Heaton, global therapeutics area head for vaccines, defended the company’s shot and said, “It’s easy to store and transport. In many low- and middle-income countries, our vaccine is the most important and sometimes the only option. Even in the U.S., given its durable protection it may be the preferred choice for people who can’t or won’t return for multiple vaccinations.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.