What the Johnson & Johnson vaccine suspension means for Floridians
Bottom Line: Tuesday’s announcement by the FDA and the CDC suspending the use of the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine came as a surprise. Thousands of immunizations statewide were set to take place with the vaccine yesterday. Now it’s unclear if anymore of the vaccines will be administered. We’ve heard concerns regarding blood clot concerns with various vaccine candidates which hadn’t been approved for use in the United States. The clotting concern hadn’t previously been identified as a potential issue with the J&J vaccine until now. Over 7 million Americans have received the vaccine – many of which are likely now nervous regarding the potential impact to them personally. Regarding the specific impact to Florida and Floridians...
Through Tuesday’s vaccine summary by the Florida Department of Health:
- 510,247 Floridians have been vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine
That total represents...
- 11.2% of all Floridians who’ve completed a vaccine series &
- 6.8% of all Floridians who’ve been vaccinated
The impact of the “pause” is the removal of about 11% of Florida’s vaccination supply, including the removal of the only one-dose schedule. This obviously will push back the time horizon for fully vaccinating all Floridians who are desirous of receiving the vaccine. It also has the potential to lead to greater vaccine hesitancy among those who were already reluctant to receive one. More constructively, if we were to lose one of the three vaccines it’s probably best that it was the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. While the J&J was the most convenient due to the one-dose schedule, its efficacy was only 66% against infection compared to 94% and 95% with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
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