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'It should instill confidence' | Task force says J&J vaccine pause shows the system is working

"To me, what it says is it should reinforce confidence in the system that does the evaluations for a vaccine," Dr. Alex Garza said Wednesday

ST. LOUIS — The leader of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force said the pause on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is proof that there is "a robust system" behind the vaccine process focused on keeping people safe.

"To me, what it says is it should reinforce confidence in the system that does the evaluations for a vaccine," task force commander Dr. Alex Garza said Wednesday, "and should instill confidence, depending on what the outcome is, that there are people that are looking out for these things."

Although Dr. Garza said the decision was the right one to make, and is a common practice in the medical industry, he said it "doesn't help" with vaccine hesitancy.

A study published by the Missouri Hospital Association said about 40% of Missourians are “not likely to seek a vaccine.” The study said 34% of people in the St. Louis area responded "not too likely" or "not likely at all."

"There was always some degree of hesitancy that was out there, and this pause certainly doesn't help with that," Dr. Garza said. "Now it was a completely appropriate pause for the FDA and the CDC to look at the data, and that's what their job is."

The vaccine was paused because of blood clot concerns after six cases of the possible side effect were reported in the United States. Dr. Garza highlighted how rare the side effect is. 

He said the risk of developing blood clots from the J&J was more than one in 1 million. He said people are more likely to develop blood clots from things like pregnancy — 1 in 10,000 women — and air travel — 1 in 1,000 people. He also said one journal study found that more than 7% of COVID-19 patients suffered blood clots in the lungs and about 11% had blood clots in large arteries like the ones found in the leg.

With all that said, Dr. Garza said the pause shouldn't have a major effect on the vaccine rollout in the St. Louis area. The Johnson & Johnson shot has only accounted for about 3% of the total doses distributed. On Wednesday, Dr. Garza said the overall number of doses distributed in the St. Louis area surpassed 1 million, with Johnson & Johnson accounting for about 30,000.

In many parts of the St. Louis Area, it has never been easier to get a vaccine.

In St. Louis, the vaccination event at The Dome at America's Center surpassed 10,000 doses Wednesday, but the site has struggled to fill appointments. The site is equipped to administer 3,000 doses every day. The clinic at the Dome is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. People are encouraged to register on the state's vaccine navigator but it's not necessary. Walk-ins are welcome. You must be at least 16 years old and a Missouri resident.

RELATED: Vaccine surplus: The Dome has more shots than people

St. Louis County said they have a total of more than 1,000 Pfizer vaccine appointments Thursday and Friday. Click here to sign up.

In Madison County, the health department is planning 10 vaccine events in the next 10 days. For more information and to sign up, click here.

Dr. Garza said the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the St. Louis area has remained consistent. He also said those patients ending up in the hospital have continued to trend younger. He said this is because of vaccine distribution to the older, more vulnerable populations.

The following data are the combined figures from the four major health systems (BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health, St. Luke’s Hospital) that are part of the task force, for April 14.  

  • New hospital admissions (data lagged two days) increased from 33 yesterday to 45 today. 
  • The seven-day moving average of hospital admissions (data lagged two days) decreased – from 41* yesterday to 40 today. 
  • The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations decreased – from 229 yesterday to 226 today.
  • Inpatient confirmed COVID positive hospitalizations decreased – from 225 yesterday to 221 today.
  • Inpatient suspected COVID positive hospitalizations decreased – from 39 yesterday to 29 today. 
  • The number of confirmed COVID positive patients in the ICUs increased – from 51 yesterday to 53 today.
  • The number of confirmed COVID positive patients on ventilators decreased – from 29 yesterday to 28 today. 
  • The number of COVID deaths increased – from 2 yesterday to 4 today. 
  • The seven-day moving average of COVID deaths remains the same at 3 today. 
  • Across the system hospitals, 36 patients have been discharged, bringing the cumulative number of COVID-19 patients discharged to 21,034.
  • On Wednesday, staffed bed hospital capacity is at 84%, an average across our task force hospitals. The ICUs are at 82% of their total staffed bed capacity.

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