Why some Americans are demanding on their jab

America has three vaccines approved for distribution, and now people are choosy about what they want.

All three have been shown to be effective in preventing Covid-19 disease and, most importantly, hospitalizations and deaths – and health officials have said the best vaccine is the one offered to you.

Still, there appears to be a growing preference for the Pfizer and Modern jabs over the Johnson & Johnson option.

In early March, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan rejected the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for city residents, suggesting the other two jabs available in the United States were superior.

“I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure the people of the city of Detroit get the best,” he told a press conference.

After a public outcry from the public health community, the mayor did an about-face, saying he was “fully convinced” that the blow was safe and effective.

But like Mr Duggan, some Americans have also expressed concerns about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and its overall effectiveness rates – even though health officials have warned those numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Some say they’d rather delay their immunizations than take Johnson & Johnson, which risks throwing a wrench into community health officials’ distribution plans.

“I had an appointment for a vaccine this week, and I canceled it because I heard they were distributing Johnson & Johnson. I do not take [that vaccine] at all, ”a Washington DC resident told the BBC.

Now health officials like Dr. Michele Andrasik are trying to reassure Americans that any licensed vaccine offered to them is a good vaccine to take.

“On the one hand, people are delighted that there is only one shot [for Johnson & Johnson], and on the other hand, there is a lot of confusion as to what the efficacy results actually say and does that mean it’s not as good, “Dr Andrasik told the BBC, Senior Scientist in the Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Division of Fred Hutch.

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In February, US regulators officially approved the single-injection vaccine against the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus – the latest to get the green light.

Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which use new mRNA vaccine technology and require two injections, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses a common cold virus that was designed to make it harmless.

It then safely carries part of the genetic code for the coronavirus around the body. This is enough for the body to recognize the threat and then learn to fight the coronavirus.

President Joe Biden has shown his confidence in the vaccine. This month, he announced that the United States would order an additional 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson, doubling the amount available to Americans.

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said all vaccines available in the United States were good vaccines, and stressed that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is “not the vaccine the weakest”.

The concern hinges on published efficacy data from clinical trials – but those numbers aren’t all they appear to be, experts say.

Health officials have pointed out that the most important statistic in the fight against the pandemic is that all three vaccines prevent hospitalizations and deaths from the virus 100%.

The drugs Pfizer and Moderna were also tested before new, more contagious variants became widespread, which made a difference in the trials.

“They weren’t compared face to face. They were compared under different circumstances,” Dr Fauci said.

In addition, the CDC explains that all vaccines are more effective than the annual flu shot.

“The bottom line is that Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer are all incredibly effective at preventing severe disease progression, hospitalization, discharge in intensive care or ventilation or death,” says Dr. Andrasik.

Another positive point of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to community health advocates, is that it is the only single-injection vaccine available in the United States.

It can also be more convenient for distribution – especially in the most difficult to reach places like some poor or rural areas. But it is feared that sending this one vaccine to these regions could increase the stigma.

“Equity involves choice,” says Dr Andrasik.

“So if you have only one choice and you are a disenfranchised population, I think that fuels the idea of ​​inequity, uncertainty and questioning of why we have only one choice. “

She adds: “I think all vaccines should be available to everyone. I think the reason for sending Johnson & Johnson to rural areas [and poorer] access to care. “

Community leaders and health professionals like Dr Andrasik are working to raise awareness of the vaccine and fight misinformation.

When more than half a million people have died from Covid in the United States, “as soon as it is my turn, I will take whatever vaccine I have at that time,” she said.

What are the other concerns?

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was also recently in the news after the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops – which represents the church in the United States – and others have expressed “moral concerns” with the coup.

The problem is how it is produced with cell lines derived from abortion – cells taken in the 1980s “originally isolated from fetal tissue, some of which were originally derived from an aborted fetus” – like a number of other vaccines available today.

Johnson & Johnson used a similar method to develop their Ebola vaccine – and no Covid-19 vaccine contains human tissue of any kind.

The conference indicated that, if given a choice, Catholics should take another vaccine.

The advice given by the American conference seems to contradict the Vatican’s own position that such vaccines are “morally acceptable”.

Other Catholic leaders have come out to reject the idea that church members should avoid this vaccine.

In Connecticut, the Archbishop of Hartford and other local clergy said in a statement that all residents “should feel free in conscience to receive any of the vaccines currently available … for their own health and the common good “.

While many other vaccines, such as those used for chickenpox and rubella, have been developed in a similar fashion, the latest concerns of Catholic leaders about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have added to the skepticism of some Americans.

Johnson & Johnson isn’t the only vaccine facing concerns. Oxford-AstraZeneca – which the United States is considering licensing – has been suspended in more than a dozen European countries due to blood clots.

The European medicines regulator has since said the vaccine is “safe and effective” and Germany, France, Italy and Spain have said they will start using the vaccine again.