Professor Roger Seheult, MD discusses the CDC and FDA’s decision to pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, as well as variants and vaccine coverage around the world, highlighting COVID-19 surges in Brazil and India and what Israel is doing to dramatically reduce severe infections.
Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Pause
This week, the CDC and FDA recommended pausing the use of the Johnson & Johnson adenovirus COVID-19 vaccine while they investigate six cases of a rare type of blood clot in women who recently received the vaccination. MedCram Co-Founder, Kyle Allred, interviewed Dr. Seheult for his take on the decision, as well as an in-depth illustration of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), the type of clot discovered in these cases – which occured in conjunction with thrombocytopenia.
Dr. Seheult explains important considerations for medical professionals when treating CVST in conjunction with thrombocytopenia, as well as what symptoms to look out for. The possible relative risk of CVST from the Johnson & Johnson shot versus other situations (including COVID-19) is also discussed. Dr. Seheult also comments on the safety data for the other mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines (such as Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech in the United States) and different perspectives on how the J&J halt could contribute to vaccine hesitancy.
COVID-19 Variants, Vaccine Uptake, Sinovac, Brazil, India, & Israel
In COVID-19 update 126, Dr. Seheult covers vaccine uptake, highlighting this tracker from Bloomberg, which shows country-by-country data on the number and percentage of the population vaccinated. He also breaks down the mechanism, usage, and efficacy of the “CoronaVac,” the COVID-19 vaccine produced by the Chinese company, Sinovac.
In addition, Dr. Seheult explains interesting data from this pre-print study, which led to reports of the South Africa SARS-CoV-2 variant “breaking through” the Pfizer vaccine in Israel. He also talks about Brazil’s vaccination hesitancy and how it may relate to the country’s high death toll and current surge in COVID-19 cases.
Stay Tuned for More COVID-19 Updates
Our COVID-19 videos are always available for free (and ad-free) at MedCram.com. In addition, check out our full library of courses and lectures on subjects ranging from the Adrenal Gland to Acute Abdominal Pain Explained Clearly and many more!
Meanwhile, you can find all of our COVID-19 videos compiled here.