Vaccine for Coronavirus: Is it safe?
All three vaccines authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been thoroughly tested and found to be safe and effective in preventing severe COVID-19. They continue to undergo continuous and intense safety monitoring.
Please see below for more information and safety guidance for the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and information about rare cases of myocarditis associated with the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
Johns Hopkins Medicine is administering all three COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. We view all three vaccines as highly effective in preventing serious disease, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 and that their benefits outweigh their risks.
Myocarditis and the COVID-19 Vaccines
Since April 2021, there have been more than a thousand reports of cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining outside the heart) happening after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccines in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Considering the hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses that have been administered, these reports are very rare. The problem occurs more often in adolescents (teens) and young adults, and in males. The myocarditis or pericarditis in most cases is mild and resolves quickly.
Seek medical attention right away if, within a few days of receiving the second injection of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna), you or your child experiences chest pain, shortness of breath, or feelings of having a fast-beating, fluttering, or pounding heartbeat.
Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
In April 2021, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was paused while the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigated a small number of cases of rare blood clots in people who had received that vaccine. Nearly all reports of this problem have been in adult women younger than age 50. After careful review, the FDA and CDC recommended that administration of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine could safely resume. Johns Hopkins Medicine followed these recommendations, temporarily pausing and then resuming use of the J&J vaccine.
Learn more about how Johns Hopkins Medicine responded to the pause.
Johnson & Johnson Vaccine and TTS, A Possible, Rare Side Effect
A small number of people have developed a serious blood clot condition after they received the J&J vaccine. Nearly all reports of this problem have been in adult women younger than age 50. A review of all available data at this time shows that the J&J vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks.
However, women younger than age 50 should be aware of this rare adverse event and should know that other COVID-19 vaccines are available.
For three weeks after receiving the J&J vaccine, you should watch for possible symptoms of a blood clot with low platelets called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS. Although very rare and treatable when diagnosed in time, TTS is serious.
Get medical help immediately if you have any of these symptoms within 3 weeks of receiving the J&J coronavirus vaccine:
- Severe or persistent headaches or blurred vision
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Leg swelling
- Persistent abdominal pain
- Easy bruising or tiny blood spots under the skin near the injection site
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