Worries persist on J&J jabs in US

WASHINGTON－US states have resumed administering a one-shot COVID-19 vaccine after federal agencies lifted a pause on its use, but public trust in the vaccine from Johnson& Johnson has been undermined.

The US Food and Drug Administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, announced their decision to lift the pause regarding the use of the J&J jab last Friday, allowing its use again for adults.

Following a thorough safety review, the agencies found the shot's known and potential benefits "outweigh" its known and potential risks in individuals 18 years of age and older.

The pause was recommended on April 13 after reports of six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said there is "likely an association but the risk is very low" based on in-depth analysis.

Although several states have resumed giving the J&J vaccine, a recent poll showed public trust for the shot has been damaged by the pause.

Fewer than half of US citizens considered the one-shot vaccine as safe and barely more than a fifth of those not yet vaccinated would be willing to take the vaccine, a poll by ABC News and Washington Post said.

About 46 percent of interviewees think the J&J jab is very or somewhat safe, compared with more than seven in 10 for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

About 73 percent of those not yet vaccinated said they were unwilling to receive the J&J shot.

Aid arrives

Elsewhere in the world, Pakistan on Monday received the third batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government.

Pakistan is facing a third wave of COVID-19 and the newly-arrived vaccine doses will help the country to build immunity in its society to save lives, said Pakistan's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub Khan.

In Serbia, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic welcomed another batch of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccines at the Belgrade airport on Monday. Vaccine doses delivered from China will help Serbia reach the target of vaccinating 37 percent of its population by the end of April, Brnabic said.

So far, 1.3 million people have received both doses across Serbia, which helped lower the number of new cases, said the prime minister, adding most people in Serbia were inoculated with Sinopharm vaccines.

El Salvador also received on Monday a third shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac, local authorities said. The shipment was transported to the health ministry's distribution center for delivery to the different vaccination centers.

Xinhua - Agencies