CAPE TOWN - South Africa is satisfied and will continue to use Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) Covid-19 vaccine despite the US temporarily suspending its use based on rare adverse events experienced in the US.
More than a week ago on December 16, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its vaccine recommendations by “expressing a clinical preference for individuals to receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine over Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine”.
On Friday, South Africa’s National Health Department noted the CDC’s updated recommendations. However, upon considering the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) safety data from its Sisonke Study, believes the US recommendations should not undermine the J&J rollout in other parts of the world.
The Sisonke Study monitored adverse events at vaccination sites through self-reporting, health care provider reports and active case finding.
It found that out of 477 234 health care workers who received J&J vaccinations, 10 279 reported adverse effects, with 129 experiencing serious side effects.
Co-National lead on the Sisonke Study, Professor Linda Gail Bekker, said: “Our safety data demonstrates that this vaccine was well-tolerated and that all rare events associated with the J&J vaccine were well managed.”
Side-effects reported from the Sisonke Study:
- Most prevalent: headache and body aches, injection site pain and fever – most of which occurred within 48 hours after receiving the jab.
- Very rare: Two cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) and four cases of Guillian-Barre Syndrome that were not fatal.
“There is no reason for widespread concern. Most of the adverse events have been minor, local or systemic reactions. Blood clotting (TTS) is an extremely rare complication affecting between one and four per million people who are vaccinated,” the Health Department says.
South Africa’s Health Department points out that countries like France and Poland have also continued to provide J&J Covid-19 vaccines.
Furthermore, based on findings from the Sisonke Study, as well as the preliminary short-term analysis from the Sisonke 2 Study, the Health Department is satisfied with the efficacy and protection the J&J Covid-19 vaccines provide.
The preliminary short term analysis from the Sisonke 2 Study indicates: “Two doses of J&J have been found to be protective against hospital admissions with vaccine efficacy data (VE) for hospital admissions at least equivalent to other vaccines.”
The national health body further states J&J booster vaccine approval is expected in the coming days.
IOL