CDC Panel Unanimously Advises Agency to Promote mRNA Shots, Not J&J

A panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday voted unanimously to advise the agency to promote mRNA vaccines, Pfizer’s and Moderna’s, over the traditional Johnson & Johnson.

The panel seemingly attributed the recommendation to the concerns over blood clots, although the agency confirmed nine fatalities related to the blood clotting issue associated with the J&J jab.

Calling the move “unusual,” the Daily Mail noted that the fate of the guidance now rests with CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, who will consider the recommendation:

The CDC experts say that the two mRNA vaccines do not have the same risk, and unlike in the spring when vaccine supplies were tight, Pfizer and Moderna shots now are plentiful in the U.S.

The J&J shot also shows signs of being much less effective against the Omicron variant, and a booster is recommended just two months after the dose, opposed to six months for Pfizer and Moderna.

In April, federal agencies called for the “immediate pause” of J&J’s vaccine “out of an abundance of caution.” However, that was short-lived and resumed shortly after federal agencies gave a clear. 

While public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have admitted that the Omicron variant “might even be less severe” than the widespread Delta variant of the virus, there are, indeed, documented cases of breakthrough infections.

For example, at Cornell University, which is reporting 97 percent of staff, faculty, and students vaccinated, “virtually every case of the omicron variant to date has been found in fully vaccinated students, a portion of whom had also received a booster shot,” according to Joel Malina, vice president for University Relations.

According to the CDC’s Friday data, over 203 million individuals in the U.S. are considered fully vaccinated, comprising 61.3 percent of the country’s population. The vast majority opted for either Pfizer (over 114 million) or Moderna (over 72 million), while 16 million have received the single-dose J&J.