On Tuesday, it was reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday morning that they are recommending a pause in the administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine out of an “abundance of caution.”
“According to released statements, officials are examining whether the vaccine was linked to six cases in the U.S. ‘of a rare & severe type of blood clot.’ The one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been administered more than 6.8 million times across the country,” wrote the Daily Wire.
“Today FDA and [CDC] issued a statement regarding the Johnson & Johnson [COVID-19] vaccine. We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” the FDA tweeted, adding that “As of 4/12, 6.8m+ doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC & FDA are reviewing data involving 6 reported U.S. cases of a rare & severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine. Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare.”
For an administration which values “science,” this decision is absurd … unless math isn’t a part of “science.”
With over 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered, there have been 6 reported cases in the United States of a “rare and severe type of blood clot.” While this is undeniably terrible for those afflicted with such dreadful conditions — regardless of whether they were caused by the vaccine or not — these negative outcomes represent such a tiny proportion of the immunized population that the decision to pause its use is statistically laughable.
By the numbers provided by the FDA and CDC, 0.00009% of those vaccinated have experienced severe blood clotting issues. That’s less than one in every million people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Now, if we are to believe that this “abundance of caution” is scientifically valid, this only begs the question: why is the same overwrought caution not being applied to other medical treatments?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, between one and five out of every 10,000 young women not on birth control will have a blood clot in a given year. That risk quadruples for those taking various forms of the contraceptive pill. Given that this risk far outweighs that of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, why is the FDA not advising that prescriptions of the contraceptive pill be paused?
Outside of the world of medical science, what about the risk of dying in a car crash? According to the National Safety Council, the chances of dying from a motor vehicle crash is 1 in 103, which greatly exceeds the risk of developing blood clots after both the contraceptive pill and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. And, yet, we’re still on the roads.
Why?
The answer has nothing to do with science, and everything to do with panic and the inability or unwillingness of our government agencies to speak frankly on issues which are already contentious.
Want to encourage people to take the COVID-19 vaccine while simultaneously treating them like adults? Admit that every medical procedure — indeed, any act of life — comes with a risk, and argue why that risk is outweighed by the reward.
Otherwise, if we’re going to pause a vaccine because of a 0.00009% risk of developing blood clots, someone should explain why women are still being prescribed contraception pills, and why we are still behind the wheels of our cars.
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.