Why We’re More Afraid of Vaccine-Related Blood Clots Than We Are of COVID-19
The end of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be near. At the time of writing, over 211 million doses of the vaccine have been administered.1 Vaccines play a crucial role in achieving herd immunity and stopping the spread of the virus.
However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. On April 13th, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended a pause for the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine.2,3 This decision was made after the discovery of 6 cases where women who had received the J&J vaccine developed a severe blood-clotting condition. To put these 6 cases in perspective, to date, over 6.8 million J&J doses have been administered.3,4
The J&J vaccine is essential in our efforts to mitigate the pandemic. It is widely considered ideal for harder-to-reach populations because it only requires one dose.4 It is thus understandable why the decision to pause its distribution has been met with controversy. With COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy already hampering public health efforts, some experts, such as NYU bioethics professor Dr. Arthur Caplan, are arguing that pausing the vaccine can spur unnecessary anxiety and fear about getting vaccinated, especially given the extremely low risk of severe side effects.5 Others, like GWU Health Policy and Management professor Dr. Leana Wen, argue that the pause demonstrates the high level of cautiousness with which the FDA and CDC are approaching vaccine distribution, and that this decision is proper due diligence.6
References
1. Carlsen A. How Is The COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Going In Your State? In: NPR [Internet]. 28 Jan 2021 [cited 17 Apr 2021]. Available: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/28/960901166/how-is-the-covid-19-vaccination-campaign-going-in-your-state
2. Office of the Commissioner. Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine. 2021 [cited 17 Apr 2021]. Available: https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/janssen-covid-19-vaccine
3. CDC. Recommendation to Pause Use of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine. 16 Apr 2021 [cited 17 Apr 2021]. Available: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7103a4.htm
4. Stone W. 1 Shot Or 2 Shots? “The Vaccine That”s Available To You — Get That’. In: NPR [Internet]. 5 Mar 2021 [cited 17 Apr 2021]. Available: https://www.npr.org/2021/03/05/974065532/1-shot-or-2-shots-the-vaccine-thats-available-to-you-get-that
5. Rodriguez A. Some health experts worry Johnson & Johnson pause could cause “grave damage” to public perception of COVID-19 vaccines. USA Today. 15 Apr 2021. Available: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/04/15/j-j-covid-vaccine-pause-could-cause-grave-damage-pandemic-efforts/7234226002/. Accessed 17 Apr 2021.
6. Website. [cited 17 Apr 2021]. Available: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/15/health/johnson-and-johnson-vaccine-concerns-wellness/index.html
7. Suh YJ, Hong H, Ohana M, Bompard F, Revel M-P, Valle C, et al. Pulmonary Embolism and Deep Vein Thrombosis in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Radiology. 2021;298: E70–E80.
8. COVID-19 Map – Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. [cited 17 Apr 2021]. Available: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
9. Kahneman D, Tversky A, DECISIONS AND DESIGNS INC MCLEAN VA., United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Making Under Risk. 1977.
10. Kahneman D, Tversky A. Choices, Values, and Frames. Cambridge University Press; 2000.
11. Regret Aversion – Biases & Heuristics. 14 Aug 2019 [cited 17 Apr 2021]. Available: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/regret-aversion/
About the Author
Sanketh Andhavarapu
Sanketh is an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland: College Park studying Health Decision Sciences (individual studies degree) and Biology. He is the co-Founder and co-CEO of Vitalize, a digital wellness platform for healthcare workers, and has published research on topics related to clinical decision-making, neurology, and emergency medicine and critical care. He is also currently leading business development for a new AI innovation at PediaMetrix, a pediatric health startup, and previously founded STEPS, an education nonprofit. Sanketh is interested in the applications of behavioral and decision sciences to improve medical decision-making, and how digital health and health policy serve as a scalable channel to do so.
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