US health authorities are calling for a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, after reports of extremely rare blood clotting cases.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it was acting "out of an abundance of caution".

It said six cases of severe blood clotting had been detected in more than 6.8 million doses of the vaccine.

The recommendation follows similar rare cases in the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has prompted some curbs in its use.

In a series of tweets, the FDA said it and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were reviewing "six reported US cases of a rare & severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine. Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare".

"We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution," it said.

A report in the Telegraph says that the chances of getting blood clots (cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT)) from Covd-19 is eight times likely that getting them from a vaccination.

I gather from what is said that some deaths from Covid-19 are due to blood clots in the brain and these are of a much greater than deaths that might be due to those caused by the vaccines.

Chile's Health Minister Enrique Paris has been striking a gloomy note at his daily Covid news conferences in recent days. The number of daily cases reached a new record high on 9 April, going over 9,000 for the first time since the pandemic began and considerably higher than the previous peak of just under 7,000 cases in mid-June...

... Intensive care units are again overwhelmed, the country has for a second time closed its borders to everyone who is not a resident and most of its 18 million inhabitants are back in lockdown...

... What went wrong?

Critics have accused the Piñera government of getting caught up in triumphalism over the vaccine rollout and of having loosened coronavirus restrictions too fast...

... Restaurants, shops, and holiday resorts were opened up to kickstart the faltering economy...

... the message about how to prevent contagion, such as wearing masks and washing your hands, was also somewhat neglected during the summer months in Chile. That, she explains, "is probably one of the causes of the outbreaks we are seeing now"...

... complying with the full vaccination schedule is therefore paramount. "Just one dose doesn't give you the whole preventive response," she explains.

It is a message that María González thinks the government has not done enough to get across.

The Santiago resident has just received her first jab at a vaccination centre. "Two jabs are needed before the vaccine works properly," ... "And even then, we still need to be careful, follow social distancing and other safety measures."...

There are reports that the Sinovac vaccine, that is most common in use in Chile, is only just over 50% effective.
It will be interesting to see if this had some effect on the problem now facing Chile.

... Data on the efficacy of the CoronaVac vaccine is varied. Brazilian trials suggested an efficacy rate of around 50.4% but results from late-stage trials in Indonesia and Turkey suggested a much higher rate - between 65% and 83%.

A study published by the University of Chile last week (in Spanish) looked at the level of protection the vaccine offered after the first and the second doses. It suggested CoronaVac was 56.5% effective in protecting people against infection two weeks after they had received their second dose, but the figure was only 3% in the timespan between the first and second doses...

... in the trial that showed an efficacy rate of around 50% many of those who got infected only had very mild symptoms or were asymptomatic. She stresses that the important thing is that no-one in the trial needed to go into intensive care.

She insists CoronaVac prevents deaths and severe illness and is also proving effective against the Brazilian variant...

• Multiple studies are being done, early results from one study (Brazil) show 50.4% with two other longer studies showing between 65% and 83% effectiveness;
  
• The Brazil (50.4%) study saw mainly mild or no symptoms for those who suffered COVID infection and significantly noone needed any intensive care.
  

To me, that looks like a big win regardless of which vaccine someone might get - for the protection seen AFTER THE FULL COURSE OF TWO DOSES.


The bigger problems are, as is too often the case:

• the media sensationalizing and confusing the story;
  
• and then also the politics jumping the gun on claiming the pandemic is 'somehow over'.
  

Get vaccinated.

But still stay safe folks!
Martin

(Edit: Grammar)

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine while urging others eligible to "take this injection".

"This is very very helpful, very good," he said as he was given the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab at a facility in the Indian city of Dharamsala on Saturday.

The Dalai Lama had enrolled himself to be vaccinated, officials said.

India launched its vaccination drive on 16 January, but it was limited to healthcare workers and frontline staff.

Since 1 March, however, the scheme has been extended to people aged over 60...

To me, that looks like a big win regardless of which vaccine someone might get - for the protection seen AFTER THE FULL COURSE OF TWO DOSES.
The bigger problem, as is too often the case, is the media sensationalism confusing the story and the politics jumping the gun on claiming the pandemic is 'somehow over'.

Russia normally has to spend huge amounts of money on computer hacking and disinformation to spread discord and uncertainty in Europe. Now the vaccine appears to be achieving something similar without any effort.
Pierre Vimont of Carnegie says the Putin administration will be pleased. "I'm sure they are enjoying this," he said, "let's not be fooled. The use of vaccines by Russia and by China is a diplomatic instrument, a tool for soft power. Playing {EU} member states off against each other is naturally important to Russia."

Argentinian President Alberto Fernández tested positive for Covid-19 in April after receiving two doses of Sputnik in January and February. That's a reminder that even if the Gamaleya Institute's claimed efficacy rate of 91.6% turns out to be true, a small statistical risk remains among those who've been vaccinated.

Also, the Jab does not stop you getting Covid.