Louisiana distributing Johnson & Johnson vaccine ‘upon request’ after CDC change

Louisiana will continue to distribute the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, though the Centers for Disease Control announced last week that Americans should receive Pfizer or Moderna shots over J&J if possible. 

The J&J vaccine can cause rare, but serious, blood clots and the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines appear to be more effective, according to federal officials, though the CDC stopped short of saying the J&J shot should be pulled as a vaccine option.

“It’s been particularly useful in certain situations — especially for workers who are in the state for a short time, such as those who work aboard ships,” Litten said. 

The J&J shot also does not require special cold-storage facilities needed for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, making it easier to carry for medical providers that aren’t hospitals or large pharmacies.

Louisiana has seen very few negative reactions to any vaccine, including Johnson & Johnson’s. There have been no deaths linked to any of the COVID-19 vaccines in Louisiana and a total of 13 “severe adverse events” out of about 4.7 million shots administered, Litten said. 

Still, the J&J vaccine has never been particularly popular. Louisiana has given the J&J shot to approximately 169,000 people, just 7.3 percent of the 2.3 million people considered fully vaccinated in the state. Federal health officials are also encouraging J&J recipients to choose a Pfizer or Moderna shot as their booster. 

A “mix and match” regiment of any combination — which includes receiving a booster that is different from one’s previous vaccine doses — has been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration since October. More than 70% of people in the United States who got a booster after the J&J shot received either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, according to the CDC. 

A Bloomberg Law article reported that the National Institutes of Health expects to have data available next week on how much protection a Pfizer or Moderna booster after an initial J&J shot offers against the omicron variant. 

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine may also be useful as health care officials push more Americans to get booster shots. 

A small study released on Sunday also found that a “mix and match” regiment that includes a J&J booster might provide longer-lasting immunity than three shots of Pfizer. Researchers in Boston studied 65 people who received two shots of the Pfizer vaccine and found that those who received a J&J booster had twice the number of COVID-fighting T-cells than those who got a Pfizer booster, according to a New York Times article.