With the threat of the coronavirus pandemic still very prevalent in the United States, Americans have been scrambling to get vaccinated. The three well-known vaccines that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized for emergency use were the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. However, after pharmacies and vaccine distribution sites administered over 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, federal health experts and FDA officials are calling for an indefinite halt in the utilization of this vaccine.

This pause is due to a rare blood clot disorder that six Americans developed after receiving this vaccine. This disorder, called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), differs from regular blood clots. Because of this, many officials worry that doctors may not have the proper training to diagnose and treat this specific form of blood clots. The usual medication that would be administered for regular blood clots, heparin, would not treat this condition, and may actually worsen it.

“I would rather get a safer vaccine, like Moderna,” senior Lya Fernandez said. Fernandez said she would not be comfortable being injected with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Worldwide trust in this vaccine has clearly been lowered, even though the Johnson & Johnson company stated that “no clear casual relationship has been established between these rare events” and the vaccine they have been producing. However, of the 34 million people vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Britain, 222 people have developed CVST.

“If I had to do it again I believe I would still get the J&J vaccine,” said English Teacher Mrs. Melissa Falcon. “I believe it still offers protection from becoming severely ill, it was produced using studied and traditional virus-based technology,” Falcon said.
In her eyes, the benefits outweigh the small possibility of any risk and she found the single dose inoculation beneficial.