There is a lot of contradiction over the COVID-19 vaccine going around, and with a lot of it being politicized, it can be difficult to figure out what exactly is happening. However, we do know some basic facts that might help clear up some controversy. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been a hot topic over the past few weeks, as thousands of doses were recalled due to several incidents of a blood-clotting reaction in vaccine recipients. While this is definitely an issue to address, there are some numbers that must be taken into account. You have a one in 75 chance of dying in a car crash, but obviously cars are still on the roads. One in every 283 flu vaccine recipients has a fatal reaction, yet flu vaccines are considered very safe. You have a one in 15,300 chance of getting struck by lightning, but that is considered very low so there aren’t any restrictions on being outside. Yet out of the 6.8+ million recipients of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 6 have had blood clotting symptoms that were directly or indirectly caused by the vaccine. That means that the odds of getting a blood clotting reaction is literally more than one in 1,000,000, and not all of the reactions were even fatal. That means that you are more than 13,000x more likely to die on the way to get the vaccine than to actually have any serious symptoms. In actuality, by these numbers, the COVID vaccine is one of the safest medical treatments to ever be used, especially in such a large quantity. With that, even though the government is being cautious by recalling the vaccines, those who have gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or are planning to get it should not be concerned in the least. What this means in terms of getting back to normal is the path is fairly clear. Texas has reopened completely and has one of the lowest COVID rates per capita, and evidence is suggesting that the vaccines are stopping the spread after all. While the CDC is still confirming that, many medical professionals say that a vaccine of this nature should eliminate the virus from the body. Therefore, herd immunity should begin developing, and full reopening shortly thereafter. While the future does seem bright, we can never be sure, as we have seen many setbacks over the last year. We’re in the final stretch, and now it is simply a matter of getting immunity available to everyone.
Works Cited
Mandavilli, Apoorva. “Can Vaccinated People Spread the Virus? We Don't Know, Scientists Say.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Apr. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/health/coronavirus-vaccine-walensky.html.
“Myths and Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/vaccines/facts.html.
“Science Brief: Background Rationale and Evidence for Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/science/science-briefs/fully-vaccinated-people.html.
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