On April 13, 2021, Johnson and Johnson announced that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were suspending temporarily the distribution and use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine because of 6 adverse events. Blood clots were discovered in six women ages 18 to 48. These women developed clots in the central venous system and other areas of the body several days to three weeks post injection. One woman died and one woman is hospitalized in critical condition. The causation is in the process of being established. This rare event, 1:1,000,000 raises concern for the safety of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The system worked: This side effect was discovered by the ongoing surveillance by the manufacturer, CDC and FDA. This pause has the potential to impact the inoculation program in the country though both the FDA, CDC and the White House reassured the country that there was an adequate supply of both Moderna and Pfizer vaccine to inoculate our entire population. If you have received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine within the last three weeks and you experience symptoms of persistent headache, nausea and abdominal pain, then see your doctor. The White House just announced that if you have an appointment to receive the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, switch it to Pfizer or Moderna.
What Risk Are You Willing To Accept Pertaining To Safety Issues That Affect Survival?
The NARCOMS MS REGISTRY is a self-reported registry for MS patient who complete a survey concerning their condition on-line. There is an option to download the document and complete it offline and mail it in. Two years ago, the following was reported at the AAN:
Patients were asked if they could take a drug at night that would cure their MS by morning but would have a 1:1000 risk for death that morning would they take it? Asking this question at many patient gatherings, I learned that the answer was determined by the age of the patient, degree of disability and whether they had young children. The risk that appeared to be tolerable to the majority of patients was 1:10,000. All of us are willing to tolerate different levels of risk. Your provider may be more or less risk aversive than you. It is important to discuss your risk concerns with your provider.
Written By: Jay Rosenberg, MD
Keywords: Narcoms, MS, Johnson and Johnson, adverse effects, vaccines