Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine faces a double dose of problems. Georgia is the third state temporarily closed a vaccine site after eight people suffered adverse reactions to the shot.
Earlier this week, 18 people in North Carolina reported side effects, while 11 people in Colorado reacted to the shot with symptoms ranging from dizziness, nausea and fainting.
“This is a very potent vaccine, and what we’re seeing is a part of that potency related to a very rare side effect that we just have to keep in mind,” said Dr. David Agus, medical collaborator at CBS News .
The top three U.S. vaccines produced adverse reactions in more than 60,000 people nationwide. For each manufacturer (Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson), only one-tenth of 1% of all people have reported side effects.
Another problem Johnson & Johnson faces is distribution. The company drastically reduces shipments to states by 86% next week.
Meanwhile, Michigan is experiencing a terrible deja vu as some hospital intensive care units approach.
“We all know what works and that has to be a team effort. We have to do it together. Life depends on it,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said.
Whitmer calls for a two-week break in the indoor dining hall, face-to-face learning in high schools and youth sports, a motivating factor in new cases among children.
Pfizer is the first company to seek to extend the emergency use authorization to administer the vaccine to children up to 12 years of age.
In California, thousands of people withdrew after being told to come to a site with additional doses. In New York City, variants account for about 80% of new cases daily, with 45% self-produced. Another 30% are driven by the variant first discovered in the UK, which is believed to be up to 70% more contagious and more lethal.
Agus warns Americans not to panic.
“Current vaccines that exist in the public run against all variants,” the CBS News medical contributor said. “Science is overcoming here. And that’s why I think by June we’ll be overcoming this virus in the United States and achieving a new normalcy here.”