Colorado Health Expert Addresses Rising Fears About Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - As Colorado paused administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, experts are concerned people won't return to getting their doses.
"It's a setback in terms of the vaccine process which is broadly concerning for the pandemic," said Dr. Ross Kedl, a Professor of Immunology at the CU School of Medicine. "Halting things for the time being until it gets worked out is important. Hopefully, people take confidence in that."
Kedl has studied vaccines for more than 20 years. He says the blood clot issue that is being associated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is extremely rare, only about one case in every million people vaccinated.
"It's infinitely safer to be taking these vaccines than it is to be risking running the risk of coronavirus infection. This pandemic doesn't get over unless the proper number of people agreed to take the vaccine," he said.
In Colorado, about 95% of vaccines have been from Pfizer and Moderna, which haven't had any health issues associated with them.
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"Anything that raises people's concern about the safety of one platform of vaccines tends to naturally raise their concerns about all of them," Kedl said. "At the end of the day, it's it's clearly a very rare thing. And as long as we can control it, then it's not something to be of concern."
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