TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Denmark became the first country in the world to produce the COVID-19 vaccine Johnson & Johnson from their vaccination campaign. Quoted from Channel News Asia, the Danish health authorities made the decision because of the linkage of Johnson & Johnson vaccine technology with blood clots.
The rejection of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was also the second time for Denmark. Last April, they removed the AstraZeneca vaccine from their vaccination campaign. The reason is the same, they are concerned that the technology used by AstraZeneca has the potential to cause cases of blood clots, even though it is rare.
“The benefits offered by the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine do not exceed the risk of side effects that can be suffered by the recipient,” said the Danish Health Authority, Monday local time, May 3, 2021.
As previously reported, the technology used by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca is the same. Both COVID-19 vaccines use Adenovirus technology. Adenovirus vaccine technology emphasizes modification of the virus so that its proteins are able to form immunity to protect the recipient from the real virus.
The technology was in the spotlight last month when several cases of blood clots emerged in recipients vaksin Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. The cases appeared in the adult age group, under the elderly age. Several countries, not only Denmark, have postponed the use of both vaccines.
The bottle and syringe are seen in front of the Johnson & Johnson logo shown in the illustration taken on January 11, 2021. [REUTERS / Dado Ruvic / Ilustrasi]
Health Authority Denmark does not deny that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine spending will have an impact on their COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Denmark estimates that their vaccination campaign will be affected for four weeks in search of a COVID-19 vaccine. This is because the Johnson & Johnson vaccine covers 30 percent of their total vaccine procurement.
Separately, the Danish Parliament on Monday decided to allow the voluntary use of Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines. However, the risk must be borne by the recipient alone.
So far, Denmark has injected a COVID-19 vaccine into 11.5 percent of its population. Along with this, economic activities began to be held again since last March. This starts from restaurants, cafes, to sports stadiums.
Also read: Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 Vaccine Is Back Distributed in Europe
ISTMAN MP | CHANNEL NEWS ASIA
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