Axios Vitals: J&J pause hurts its reputation

1 big thing: J&J pause hurts its reputation | Friday, April 16, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Vitals By Caitlin Owens ·Apr 16, 2021 Good morning. Today's word count is 832, or a 3-minute read.     1 big thing: J&J pause hurts its reputation Reproduced from Economist/YouGov poll; Chart: Axios Visuals Americans' confidence in the safety of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine took a big dip this week after the pause in its use, per new YouGov polling, even though the risk of blood clots following the shot is extremely low. Why it matters: For the majority of people, particularly high-risk Americans, getting the J&J shot is almost certainly less dangerous than remaining vulnerable to the coronavirus, Axios' Marisa Fernandez and I report. Between the lines: Some experts' fears that the news would contribute to general vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. appear to be well-founded. Before the pause, only 26% of Americans said they thought the J&J vaccine was very or somewhat unsafe, per YouGov. After the pause, that number jumped to 39%. The good news: Confidence in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines remained unchanged from a previous survey, per YouGov, "indicating that concerns over one vaccine do not spill over to affect other vaccines." What they're saying: Some experts who initially applauded the pause have criticized a federal advisory committee's delay in making a recommendation about what to do next. "There is a cost of inaction, including in emboldening anti-vaccine activists & sowing doubt that hampers vaccine efforts not only in the US but around the world," tweeted Leana Wen, a public health professor at George Washington University. "There will be people who won't get a vaccine at all who would have gotten it otherwise, in which case you will have done more harm than good," Paul Offit of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia told The Hill.     2. The global flow of coronavirus vaccines Data: Airfinity; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios The world crossed a coronavirus vaccine milestone this week: over 1 billion doses have now been produced, Axios' Dave Lawler reports. The big picture: Production continues to ramp up quickly. While it took several months to reach 1 billion doses, we should hit 2 billion by the end of May, according to data from Airfinity, a science information and analytics company. China is the biggest producer and easily the biggest exporter, particularly now that India is curbing exports to fight a brutal second wave. Russia, Switzerland, South Korea, Brazil and South Africa are all producing doses but lag behind the five producers on our chart. The U.S. has kept nearly all of its supply for domestic use but expects to become a major exporter once domestic needs are met. The White House has offered few details on that front, though, beyond saying a framework for dose-sharing is in the works. The U.S. has also administered the most doses to date with 23% of the global total, according to Our World in Data. By the numbers: 21% of all vaccinations have come in China, 14% in India, 5% in the U.K. and 4% in Brazil. The continent of Africa has administered just 1.6% of the total.     3. Winning the war on COVID is good for insurers We know that's what you're really worried about, so we wanted to flag this Wall Street Journal piece on UnitedHealth's quarterly results — which showed a first-quarter profit that was better than expected, Axios' David Nather writes. Driving the news: That profit was driven in part by the fact that its COVID costs declined — and the company now expects to do better for the rest of the year too, the Journal reports. Between the lines: It's a sign that the fight against the pandemic could lessen at least some cost pressures on health insurers, as long as Americans keep getting vaccinated and can avoid another huge spike in cases and hospitalizations. But the progress against the pandemic may not lower insurers' costs across the board. John Rex, UnitedHealth's chief financial officer, said the company's medical costs probably will increase later in the year — because people will start getting all of those medical treatments they had put off during the pandemic. Flashback: The cost of the pandemic is catching up to health insurers     A message from PhRMA Instead of breaking what works, let's fix what's broken     America's unique R&D ecosystem delivered multiple COVID-19 medical breakthroughs in recordbreaking time. As we continue our work to help end the pandemic, we have a common sense plan for better, more affordable health care — for everyone.     4. Catch up quick Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   The CDC has identified about 5,800 fully vaccinated people who have contracted COVID-19 so far, a fraction of the 66 million Americans who have been vaccinated, Marisa writes. People will "likely" need a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine as a booster within 12 months of being fully vaccinated, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC on Thursday. Millions of immunocompromised Americans may not respond to coronavirus vaccines, potentially leaving them vulnerable to the virus, the NYT reports. The White House announced Thursday it's releasing $39 billion from the American Rescue Plan "to address the child care crisis caused by COVID-19."     5. Dog of the week Photo: Caitlin Owens   Meet my dog Piper's soon-to-be sister! Her foster name is Fenia but that will not be her real name. She's about 7 weeks old, and comes home on April 28! She's apparently a blue heeler mix, but TBD what the DNA test will say. She's very spunky, very bold and very cute. She was also only about 6 pounds when Piper met her, so although she wanted to play with my 50-pound dog, she got knocked to the ground more than once. Piper has been told many times that she's getting a sibling, but unfortunately, she doesn't seem to understand what I'm saying. I think she will be thrilled to have a forever playmate, but ya never know, maybe at first it will be hard for her to no longer be an only child. Photo: Caitlin Owens What's next: Reply to this email with all tips for having a 1-year-old dog and a brand-new puppy at the same time. Also, keep sending in your dogs!     A message from PhRMA Instead of breaking what works, let's fix what's broken     America's unique R&D ecosystem delivered multiple COVID-19 medical breakthroughs in recordbreaking time. As we continue our work to help end the pandemic, we have a common sense plan for better, more affordable health care — for everyone.     Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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