Member-only story
EU Regulators Determine J&J Vaccine Is Safe (Enough)
Measuring the vaccine against the disease
In an ideal world, vaccines would only prevent diseases and not also cause them. In an ideal world, a vaccine would be categorized as “effective” or “not effective” and not as “relatively beneficial.” Unfortunately, the world is far from ideal and far more complex.
The European health regulators faced the same difficult question for the second time in recent weeks: Which outweighs the other: the risks of the Covid-19 vaccine or the risks of the disease?
After cases of serious and unusual blood clots in people who were vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine were reported in the U.S., the company decided to “proactively delay the rollout in Europe.” This was not the news Europe was hoping to hear.
Europe needs vaccines, and it needs the J&J vaccine. A one-shot vaccine that is relatively easy to distribute might very well be the game-changer Europe was waiting for in order to turn things around and accelerate its controversially slow vaccination campaign.
The EU had ordered 55 million doses to be delivered through June, and a total of 200 million doses through the end of the year. In early March, J&J warned Europeans that it might not meet the delivery schedule due to…
