Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine's racial equity problem

[twin_ghost]

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-10/johnson-johnson-covid-vaccine-racial-equity-problem

latimes.com
Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine's racial equity problem - Los Angeles Times
Erika D. Smith

After weeks of being talked up and fawned over by public health officials, the new COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is finally starting to make an appearance in California.

In most quarters, this has been a cause for celebration. Hundreds of thousands of doses that don’t have to be stored in freezers and can be administered in one shot instead of the two required for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines? No wonder I’ve heard several politicians call it a “game changer,” especially after so many months of supply shortages.

But in other quarters, the arrival of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been treated more as a cause for concern — yet another reminder that having doses available and actually getting them into people’s arms in an equitable way are two very different challenges to overcome.

At issue are fears about the effectiveness the newest vaccine compared with offerings from Pfizer and Moderna, and suspicions that it will be sent primarily into poor Black and Latino neighborhoods where cases of COVID-19 have been the deadliest. (Both state and federal officials have insisted that they’re taking steps to ensure the latter doesn’t happen.)

“That they are going to put Johnson & Johnson in our communities really feels like a slap in the face,” said Corey Matthews, chief operating officer of Community Coalition. “It just doesn’t feel like it is the best shot. It feels like a second-class shot.”

[Demsrule86]

1. I wish I could have gotten Johnson and Johnson...just take the shot. For God's sake let's end

this pandemic.

[Happy Hoosier]

2. Ummmm... the J&J shot is FINE....

This is frustrating.

The J&J shot efficacy ramps up over time and is EXTREMELY effective at preventing severe illnesses and hospitalizations.

Furthermore, it is provides protection efficiently and quickly. Widespread use of the J&J vax is likely to blunt spread of the virus faster than the others as well.

I think this is a really bad take.

[lagomorph777]

12. +1 I'll take any shot, but at this point, would prefer J&J.

[jimfields33]

3. I'd take that shot.

Why would anybody want two? Plus this shortens the time for immunity by half. I have no idea which shot I’ll get as it will be luck of the draw (no pun). I’ll be happy for whichever of the three I get.

[Mike 03]

4. That's the shot I want.

It's scheduled to come to my county and is supposed to be available at my local grocery store pharmacy.

FWIW, we are a poor white county.

[JT45242]

5. Bad marketing and understanding of these vaccines all around

People hear the word vaccine and think "This will be like the Polio or measles vaccine, and I will never get the disease."

That is not what these Covid-19 vaccines are about. They prevent you from getting the disease so badly that you end up hospitalized or dead. This is like the hicken pox vaccine when it came out. I remember the talk with pediatrician when it first came out but had not yet been recommended for all kids yet.

Me: "So, it only prevents you from getting a really bad case of chicken pox? I didn't think it was that bad when I got when I was a kid except it happened at Christmas time so I couldn't play with my friends with my new toys."

Doc: "Some people get really bad cases that cause X, Y , and Z and it prevents those horrible things that happen to some people who get chicken pox."

Me: "Is it safe? No real side effects"

Doc: "Yes, research says it's safe. "

Me: "Go ahead and do it."

This weekend I had a chance to get the J&J shot at a drive through event and asked a friend who is a doctor. His one statement when I asked if I should wait for the other two vaccines: "In studies with the J&J no one died. No one ended on a ventilator. It gets you safe faster. I would have taken it instead of Moderna which is what I got to get safe faster."

That convinced me to drive an hour each way to get it and I feel relieved.

The narrative should be that these vaccines won't keep you from ever getting Covid and the new variants -- but it will keep you out of the hospital and keep you alive. There are literally millions of families who have either watched someone go into the hospital or die from this who would have wanted this.

[Siwsan]

6. I'd see just having to get one jab as a BONUS

I'm not complaining about having to get 2, over a 3 weeks span, but just needing one would have been much more convenient.

[sarisataka]

7. Given the choice,

I would always take the J&J over the others. I believe a greater chance of still getting the disease but a much lower risk of developing severe or fatal complications is a more than fair trade off.

[Tommymac]

8. Send them to Pennsylvania. I'll take it now.

A lot of this is being caused once again by Russian backed disinformation efforts.

Putin is trying to fuck up public confidence in the vaccines - once again attacking the Western World.

I was leery of the J&J vaccine until I researched it with the help of fellow Du'ers. Now it is my primary want.

Pennsylvania's Vaccination effort SUCKS. It get's an F-. The state has left it in the hands of the for-profit's, no State Wide Clearing house for scheduling has been set up - their excuses are simply that - excuses for being lazy.

I'm in IT and I know that it is NOT that hard to set up a scheduling clearinghouse - time consuming yes, but PA has had MONTH's to get this done and Gov Wolfe has failed BIG time on this issue.

[BusyBeingBest]

13. Pennsylvania is the worst--F minus minus.

My almost-80 parents finally got their first shot last week but had to drive an hour away to get it, and they were just lucky that their doctor took pity on them and made an extra effort to find them appointments. I have a family member there in her 50's battling cancer who can't get the vaccine currently. It's a shitshow.

[lagomorph777]

14. Yes, lots of Russian disinfo. Have to be skeptical of articles like this.

[pinkstarburst]

9. I just got a call asking if I

wanted to be on a waitlist in case the pharmacy had extra doses of the J&J vaccine that were going to be wasted at the end of the day. I said yes. At first I was hesitant about the J&J shot. That wasn't good thinking. Take the first shot you can get.

“That they are going to put Johnson & Johnson in our communities really feels like a slap in the face,” said Corey Matthews, chief operating officer of Community Coalition. “It just doesn’t feel like it is the best shot. It feels like a second-class shot.”

This is just not good thinking. Lots of us, in every community, are going to get the J&J shot. Period. And how entitled does this dude sound, along with the mayor of Detroit, turning up his nose at the J&J shot when all across the globe, so many countries haven't gotten ANY access to ANY vaccine at all. We are so spoiled and so lucky to have access to the vaccine in a rich country like the US and this guy needs to check his privilege.

In our area, almost all the Moderna/Pfizer doses are going to the large "hubs" (county vaccination sites doing drive-through vaccinations of thousands per day, etc). They gave a lot more providers vaccine this week (doctor's offices, pharmacies) but they almost all got J&J, likely because the storage requirements are so much easier and those mass vaccination sites can handle large amounts of traffic (i.e. your local pharmacist doesn't have space for 200 extra cars to park per hour.)

[Sympthsical]

10. This article is irresponsible

Fears. Suspicions.

Ok, what about facts?

In one breath, this guy's saying people being paranoid or afraid of the vaccine is a problem. In the next . . . trying to make people paranoid or afraid of the J&J vaccine.

We're supposed to be about the science here.

[LisaL]

16. And J&J vaccine has its advantages.

Fewer people have side effects compared to Pfizer and Moderna. It also only requires one shot.
So for people afraid of vaccine it seems like a good choice.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

11. I'll take the first vaccine available. If given a choice I would pick J&J. nt

[LisaL]

15. You'd think the activist trying to provide access to hard to reach communities would be happy with

one shot vaccine.
Instead he seems to be upset it's being offered. By the way people who already had covid likely don't even need the second shot of Pfizer and Moderna.

[Sympthsical]

19. That article just angered me

That kind of nonsense will cost lives. Any delay in getting people vaccinated costs lives.

Like I said, irresponsible. So infuriating. And the LA Times published it.

[Nonhlanhla]

17. J&J was tested later

Unlike Pfizer and Moderna, the J&J trials happened after the arrival of the new strains. I would bet its efficacy is close to the first two when the new strains are kept in mind.

[gulliver]

18. Spreading that conception could be a way to screw minorities out of earlier vaccination

Just sayin'. I sometimes wonder if encouraging minority paranoia about the vaccine isn't just someone's way of suppressing demand there. Maybe it's not, but the effect is the same.

I'm white, and I'd take the J&J vaccine (immediately and without a second thought) from anyone who wants to give me their place in line. (Once the time for folks in my risk category arrives.)

[Beetwasher.]

20. We're Using it to Vaccinate The Homeless Population in Shelters, It's a Game Changer

And Johnson & Johnson is a known, trusted brand that they have heard of and that actually really helps obtaining consent.