What You Need to Know-Week of April 19th
The most important weekly updates for you to keep your community healthy
In this Update:
1. Urgent Updates: Transmission, Vaccine & Variant Information
2. All Things Vaccine: Johnson & Johnson Update
3. Quick Question: Will I test positive for COVID-19 after getting vaccinated?
1. Urgent Updates: Transmission, Vaccine & Variant Information
Updated as of: 04-19-2021
Weekly case, death, and hospitalization counts: High and increasing number of cases
Compared to two weeks ago:
- Cases per day within Arizona have increased by 27%
- Deaths have decreased by 18%
- Hospitalizations have decreased by 7%
In the past week, there has been an average of:
- 660 cases per day
- 20.4 deaths per day
Remember: Cases usually increase prior to hospitalizations and deaths. As cases are increasing in Arizona, there will likely be a spike in hospitalizations and deaths in the coming weeks. Continue to take precautions to slow the spread of COVID-19!
View all data related to covid19 in arizona state
Vaccine Information:
- 22% of Arizonans are fully vaccinated, 35% of Arizonans have received at least one dose (of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine).
- Over 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered so far in Arizona.
See updated vaccine information
Use the resources below for more vaccination information:
see county vaccine distribution phases
view General information about COVID-19 vaccines
It is still important to take safety precautions even after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
Variant Information:
- The newer COVID-19 variants are being found at increasing rates across the world, including here in Arizona. The B.1.1.7 variant is now the most common in Arizona. You can keep up with the most current data on Arizona variants here: AZ COVID-19 Sequencing Dashboard (tgen.org)B1.1.7 is more easily transmissible, which is why it is taking over as the dominant variant so rapidly. Recent evidence suggests that the earlier reports of increased severity may not hold true for B.1.1.7 but more research is needed. Importantly, the vaccines are effective for B.1.1.7.
Please continue to stay home and take the necessary precautions (e.g., practicing hand hygiene, physical distancing, and wearing cloth face coverings) to prevent COVID-19 spread.
2. All Things Vaccines: Johnson & Johnson Update
Vaccination sites paused the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson (also called Janssen or J&J) vaccine to investigate 6 rare events of blood clotting out of the 6.8 million vaccine recipients. These blood clots occurred in women between 18 and 58 years old, 6 to 13 days after receiving the one-dose vaccine. As of now, it appears that these events are extremely rare. Again, only 6 cases of blood clots have been reported out of the 6.8 million J&J vaccinations administered (as of April 12th). The women who reported these blood clots also all had low levels of blood platelets, cells that are essential for blood clotting. This suggests a rare, autoimmune response. More data is being collected.
Why were J&J vaccinations paused?
This pause was done so healthcare providers could better understand how to provide appropriate treatment for cases with this rare, autoimmune response.
The detection of these 6 cases offers concrete evidence that vaccine surveillance is working!
What are blood clots and what is the risk associated with the J&J vaccine?
Blood clotting is usually a normal process for our body. Clotting responses help us stop bleeding after we have been cut. However, sometimes a small portion of blood clots or thickens within the body when there is no cut or injury. If untreated, these clots can lead to serious complications, such as a heart attack or stroke.
The rates of blood clotting and stroke from a COVID-19 infection are much higher than for the J&J vaccine. In other words, people are more likely to develop a clot or stroke due to a COVID-19 infection than receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
| J&J vaccine | Natural COVID-19 infection | |
|---|---|---|
| What is the risk of developing a blood clot? | As of now, the risk is 6 in 6.8 million. In other words, there is a 1 in 1,133,333 risk of developing a serious blood clot. |
|
| What is the risk of experiencing a stroke? | Blood clots have the potential to lead to serious events like stroke or heart attack; however, no data currently indicates an increased risk of stroke for those who received the J&J vaccine. |
|
Why might these blood clots be happening?
The problem is similar to what was found with another adenovirus vector vaccine, AstraZeneca.
All women who reported clots had low levels of blood platelets, which are cells that are required for normal blood clotting. Therefore, the issue appears to be the result of a very rare immune response from the J&J vaccine that began to attack their platelets.
More research is needed to fully understand why some people have this response.
Have blood clots been reported for Pfizer or Moderna?
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which use mRNA technology (different from the technology used in the J&J vaccine), have not been linked to occurences of blood clots in vaccine recipients.
Should I be worried if I received or am planning to receive the J&J vaccine?
The vaccines are still overwhelmingly safe and these reactions occur at much less frequency than what is observed with a natural infection of COVID-19.
Certain clinics and some healthcare providers are still offering the J&J vaccine.
What symptoms should you watch for?
If you received or are planning to receive the J&J vaccine watch for these symptoms for up to 3 weeks after your vaccination:
- Severe headache
- Severe abdominal pain
- Leg pain
- Shortness of breath
If you experience these symptoms after receiving a J&J vaccine, contact your healthcare provider and report these adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.
Do not worry about flu-like symptoms or mild headaches in the few days after vaccination, these are normal vaccine reactions!
3. Quick Question: Will I test positive for COVID-19 as a result of being vaccinated?
Many people are wondering whether getting a COVID-19 vaccine will cause them to test positive on a diagnostic test (e.g., rapid [antigen] or PCR test). The answer is no!
- The currently available COVID-19 vaccines do not contain the complete mRNA needed to cause an infection and the virus is unable to replicate itself using the components contained in the vaccines.
- On the other hand, you will likely receive a positive result if you take an antibody test because these tests detect whether your body has developed antibodies to the virus, which the vaccines are able to provide. All this means is that you have some level of immunity to the virus. However, we still do not know exactly how long this immunity lasts.
- Remember: antibody tests tell you whether you have had a previous COVID-19 infection. For more information about what antibody testing is, please visit our previous update. You can get a free antibody test in Arizona.
visit UofA antibody testing for more information
View our upcoming updates for more information on antibody testing!
The next update will cover how to register for and book a vaccination appointment. If you would like to learn more about this and other topics related to COVID-19 in Arizona, please complete next week’s AZCOVIDTXT survey that you will receive via text in about a week.