J&J vaccine evaluations raise concerns about possible inequities in use

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Tue, 2021-03-02 11:26 — mike kraft

Johnson & Johnson vaccine deepens concerns over racial and geographic inequities Governors weigh ease of use against the perception of a two-tiered system if the new coronavirus vaccine is deployed primarily to harder-to-reach communities. Isaac Stanley-Becker Washington Post

The nation has a third weapon to wield against the coronavirus, and this one doesn’t need to be kept frozen or followed by a booster shot.

Those attributes of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine, which gained regulatory clearance on Saturday, promise to help state and local officials quell the pandemic. First, however, they will need to determine its place in an expanding anti-virus arsenal, where it joins vaccines with sky-high efficacy rates that are still in short supply.

Decisions to send the shots to harder-to-reach communities make practical sense, because Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine is easier to store and use. But they could drive perceptions of a two-tiered vaccine system, riven along racial or class lines — with marginalized communities getting what they think is an inferior product.

The issue came up on a recent call between governors and Biden administration officials coordinating the country’s coronavirus response. Gov. Charlie Baker, a Massachusetts Republican and former health insurance executive, stressed the need for prominent health officials to communicate clearly about the benefits of the one-shot vaccine, according to three people who heard his remarks and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine proved safe and effective in a clinical trial, completely preventing hospitalization and death, including in South Africa against a more transmissible variant. When moderate cases were included, however, it was 66 percent protective, compared to efficacy of more than 90 percent reported for a vaccine jointly developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech, and one from U.S. biotech company Moderna. Trials were conducted at different points during the pandemic, and in different countries with different transmission rates, which makes head-to-head comparisons impossible. ...

The challenge in the United States is especially acute in the context of the racial and economic disparities exacerbated by the pandemic, according to state and local officials. If a vaccine thought to be less effective — though still well above the threshold of 50 percent set forth last summer by federal regulators — is used overwhelmingly in communities of color, it could erode trust. ...

The Biden administration signaled this week it was concerned about that possibility, as senior administration officials stressed that the new vaccine would be shared equally throughout the country. “All vaccines will reach all communities,” Marcella Nunez-Smith, who heads the administration’s coronavirus equity task force, said during a Monday briefing. ...

ALSO SEE: New Orleans archdiocese calls for Catholics to avoid Johnson & Johnson vaccine |

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