It feels like we’re reaching a tipping point here (Maryland) this week with vaccine availability. My husband was one of the last of my circle to get one based on eligibility (he got Pfizer #1 today).
Two weeks ago, they were a coveted hot commodity. Now it seems like they’re everywhere.
Post by Velar Fricative on Apr 13, 2021 6:04:34 GMT -5
Shit. US calls for J&J vaccine pause after 6 women developed blood clots within 2 weeks of getting the shot. One died and one is in critical condition.
Velar Fricative, I just read that and came here to talk about it! Not good. I don't know what to think. Especially as someone that received the J&J shot!
I sure hope we have enough Moderna and Pfizer at this point to keep up the steady vaccination pace we desperately need.
I feel so badly for the scientists at J&J, the millions of people who have received the vax and are now worried, and really for increased vax hesitancy going forward.
MH said this is likely the third strike to many people for J&J between the lower efficacy, the manufacturing mix-up and now this.
But then I think about statistics and I feel like we need to take a collective breath and look at the data. Then the other part of me says, but these are real people who have suffered.
Post by Velar Fricative on Apr 13, 2021 6:54:12 GMT -5
7 million Americans have received the J&J shot, by the way. But this is already drawing comments all over social media from anti-vaxxers. It doesn’t matter to them that they paused to gather more info out of an abundance of caution. They just hold impossible standards to justify their beliefs.
Shit. US calls for J&J vaccine pause after 6 women developed blood clots within 2 weeks of getting the shot. One died and one is in critical condition.
That is what we are giving college students in our community right now. Kind of our last gasp to help them stop spreading the virus so much.
Also J & J is what we are giving out at huge vaccination clinics that have been reaching hard to reach populations. It finally felt like a little bit of hope.
That is what we are giving college students in our community right now. Kind of our last gasp to help them stop spreading the virus so much.
Also J & J is what we are giving out at huge vaccination clinics that have been reaching hard to reach populations. It finally felt like a little bit of hope.
What a fucking disaster.
Yup. This is what NYC is giving homebound residents.
Post by redheadbaker on Apr 13, 2021 7:55:12 GMT -5
Oh even better (sarcasm):
"In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating clots in six women that occurred in the days after vaccination. The clots were observed along with reduced platelet counts - making the usual treatment for blood clots, the blood thinner heparin, potentially 'dangerous.'"
Shit. US calls for J&J vaccine pause after 6 women developed blood clots within 2 weeks of getting the shot. One died and one is in critical condition.
I know they saw the clotting issue with AstraZeneca in Europe. Doesn't covid itself come with a risk of blood clotting? What's different between J&J, A&Z and Pfizer, Moderna that they've only seen this (so far) in first two? Is it that they are different types of vaccines? Totally unrelated?
It feels like we’re reaching a tipping point here (Maryland) this week with vaccine availability. My husband was one of the last of my circle to get one based on eligibility (he got Pfizer #1 today).
Two weeks ago, they were a coveted hot commodity. Now it seems like they’re everywhere.
I agree completely. I have a friend who works for one of the small universities in Baltimore. She messaged me yesterday that they have on-campus appointments available and had a ton of spots that weren't filled, and did I know anyone who needed one?
I messaged a couple of people (who didn't need them) and honestly couldn't think of anyone else I knew who hadn't already been vaccinated! I know my network here is not huge (I only lived here about 1.5 years before COVID) but even so, it was kind of surprising to realize that. We have come a long way recently!
On that note, if anyone in MD needs a vaccine (or has family or friends who do) and want to go to Baltimore, I can send you the link. I am not sure if this has been affected by the J&J pause but it's worth a shot. Let me know!
Damnit. My friend that I convinced to get the vaccine just got J&J yesterday. She was hesitant because she had Covid in the fall, it was so mild she didn't even know she had it until she got tested because her H was positive, and she was worried about an adverse event from the vaccine that would be worse than Covid. I knw it's still a very, very small chance, but I just know she's going to come at me about this now.
Shit. US calls for J&J vaccine pause after 6 women developed blood clots within 2 weeks of getting the shot. One died and one is in critical condition.
That's the shot I got yesterday, AND I had a blood clot in the past. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little freaked out.
Can you call your doctor? Maybe you can go on blood thinners temporarily just in case?
As a recent blood clot survivor, I understand how you feel and would be freaked out too! Though 6 out of how many millions (ETA: 7 million) IS a very small number so I'm sure you'll be fine, too.
I understand why they feel the need to pause. But the messaging could have been different/better.
1 in 1000 women who take birth control pills will develop a clot every year, and that is a risk women willingly accept to avoid pregnancy (or deal with endometriosis, or PCOS, or a whole host of other reasons).
6 in 7 million is insanely low. Not to mention that Covid itself is associated with a risk of blood clots.
Once again, rational cost/benefit discussions and nuanced risk analysis in this country have become seemingly impossible during the pandemic. The anti-vaxxers will have a field day with this. And pulling vaccines out of distribution in the middle of another surge is obviously upsetting to think about.
So I don't want to seem like I'm being alarmist, but since all of the blood clots were in women 18-48, I think we'd need to look at how many doses were given to that population and then figure the incidence from there. Not all shots given. Right? So probably still low, but not AS low as 6 in 7 million.
... But then I think about statistics and I feel like we need to take a collective breath and look at the data. Then the other part of me says, but these are real people who have suffered.
This is me typing stream of consciousness, hah.
My Twitter is definitely leaning "1 in a million! (i.e., very unlikely)"
That may be true, and I hope it is. By comparison, according to WebMD the incidence of clots in women on birth control containing estrogen is 0.3-1% over 10 years of use:
I know they saw the clotting issue with AstraZeneca in Europe. Doesn't covid itself come with a risk of blood clotting? What's different between J&J, A&Z and Pfizer, Moderna that they've only seen this (so far) in first two? Is it that they are different types of vaccines? Totally unrelated?
Pfizer and Moderna are indeed different (pretty new) types of vaccines based on mRNA. J&J is a more traditional kind. I'm not sure about AstraZenica.
ETA and yes, several of the news pieces I've read about closing point out that COVID also has a clot risk.
That's the shot I got yesterday, AND I had a blood clot in the past. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little freaked out.
Can you call your doctor? Maybe you can go on blood thinners temporarily just in case?
As a recent blood clot survivor, I understand how you feel and would be freaked out too! Though 6 out of how many millions (ETA: 7 million) IS a very small number so I'm sure you'll be fine, too.
I'm not sure which doctor to call. It happened in 2007 and I don't see any of them anymore.
I had a rare endocrine disorder with the blood clot being an even rarer side effect, so the fact that this rare doesn't comfort me but I appreciate the thought (I don't mean that snarkily at all, I genuinely appreciate it).
It feels like we’re reaching a tipping point here (Maryland) this week with vaccine availability. My husband was one of the last of my circle to get one based on eligibility (he got Pfizer #1 today).
Two weeks ago, they were a coveted hot commodity. Now it seems like they’re everywhere.
It really does! I had to struggle to get one for my dad and my brother didn’t even know you needed appointments until it was announced they were going to start doing walk ups. He got an appointment like 2 weeks after my dad.
Can you call your doctor? Maybe you can go on blood thinners temporarily just in case?
As a recent blood clot survivor, I understand how you feel and would be freaked out too! Though 6 out of how many millions (ETA: 7 million) IS a very small number so I'm sure you'll be fine, too.
I'm not sure which doctor to call. It happened in 2007 and I don't see any of them anymore.
I had a rare endocrine disorder with the blood clot being an even rarer side effect, so the fact that this rare doesn't comfort me but I appreciate the thought (I don't mean that snarkily at all, I genuinely appreciate it).
I can empathize with this. I got so tired of medical personnel coming in to my hospital room and exclaiming how incredibly rare my blood clot was for someone with my characteristics.
Not comforting when you are actively living as a statistic.
I'm not sure which doctor to call. It happened in 2007 and I don't see any of them anymore.
I had a rare endocrine disorder with the blood clot being an even rarer side effect, so the fact that this rare doesn't comfort me but I appreciate the thought (I don't mean that snarkily at all, I genuinely appreciate it).
I can empathize with this. I got so tired of medical personnel coming in to my hospital room and exclaiming how incredibly rare my blood clot was for someone with my characteristics.
Not comforting when you are actively living as a statistic.
I was at a teaching hospital and had hordes of med students in my room because my case was "interesting." Gee, thanks.
I understand why they feel the need to pause. But the messaging could have been different/better.
1 in 1000 women who take birth control pills will develop a clot every year, and that is a risk women willingly accept to avoid pregnancy (or deal with endometriosis, or PCOS, or a whole host of other reasons).
6 in 7 million is insanely low. Not to mention that Covid itself is associated with a risk of blood clots.
Once again, rational cost/benefit discussions and nuanced risk analysis in this country have become seemingly impossible during the pandemic. The anti-vaxxers will have a field day with this. And pulling vaccines out of distribution in the middle of another surge is obviously upsetting to think about.
I really think this is key. They made the right call to pause and investigate. But the headlines I'm seeing (or hearing on MSNBC) seem very alarmist. And as someone who has a blood clotting disorder, I'm sensitive to this (and I had the J&J shot 6 weeks ago). But I also think that there has to be a way to message this that isn't "BREAKING TERRIBLE NEWS! OMG this is the most horrible terrible thing to happen!"
I don't know what exactly the right way to message it is. But having the first message be so doom and gloom is going to make it SO MUCH HARDER to bring the message back to "Ok, after the investigation, it turns out J&J is still safe and effective, so we're going to start giving it again" and have people trust that and willingly take the J&J vaccine.