Amid the rise of the Omicron variant, a Centers for Disease Control panel has made a key recommendation about vaccines. 

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has advised that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines be recommended over the Johnson and Johnson vaccine due to the issue with blood clots caused by the J&J shot, which creates a rare condition called thrombosis and thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), according to NPR. 

For that issue, the J&J shot was pulled for a time back in April. Fifty-four cases have been reported of blood clots following the J&J shot, including nine deaths, according to CNBC. This is out of the seventeen million doses administered of the J&J shot since it was first approved. About 870,000 people have gotten a J&J booster so far, according to NPR. 

“The TTS case reporting rates following Janssen vaccines is higher than previous estimates in men as well as women in a wider age range,” Dr. Keipp Talbot, the chair of the CDC’s vaccine and safety subgroup, told the panel. 

J&J, meanwhile, has continued to defend the shot, arguing that it has saved lives.

“In many low- and middle-income countries, our vaccine is the most important and sometimes the only option even in the US, given its durable protection it may be the preferred choice for people who can’t or won’t return for multiple vaccinations,” Penny Heaton, J&J’s global therapeutics area head for vaccines, told CNBC.  

Meanwhile, per the New York Post, the CDC has predicted as many as 1.3 million new cases of the coronavirus by Christmas.  

“This week’s national ensemble predicts 620,000 to 1,300,000 new cases are likely to be reported in the week ending December 25, 2021,” according to the CDC.

The CDC also noted 50,181,003 total cases, including 125,503 news cases, including over 8,000 cases in the last seven days, and 797,877 total deaths, despite some reports that the number of U.S. deaths from the coronavirus had reached the 800,000 mark.  

The Omicron variant, first spotted in South Africa around Thanksgiving, has been quickly making its way around the world, including what has been described as a “tidal wave” in the UK. While only about 3 percent of U.S. cases were Omicron as of earlier this week, it is expected to overtake the Delta variant before long. It points to a bad winter in the United States, as Omicron spreads with Delta far from gone.  

“It means that it is vital for everyone to get vaccinated and boosted if they are eligible,” Walensky said. 

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver. 

 Image: Reuters