Many recipients of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine feared that receiving this vaccine was a bad decision, after the FDA decided to momentarily pause the vaccine. This was due to the harsh symptoms that followed soon after getting the vaccine, particularly an issue with blood clots. 

Most of these symptoms were seen days after receiving the vaccine. Teacher, Brandon Austin, was no exception to this as he experienced some symptoms that were even confusing to doctors.

“I planned on letting everyone else get it first and seeing how it went for them. I had fever, chills, body aches, and I woke up and my foot was the size of a football. For the foot swelling, I had to go to the doctor. He never could figure out why it swelled up, but it went down in a day or two,” said Austin.

Questioning the speed of the vaccine’s release, many Americans were curious as to how effective the vaccine would be. Teacher, Rebecca Wright, had her own speculations about receiving the vaccine, but felt safe after doing some research of her own.

“There’s a lot of conflicting coverage, media-wise, about many aspects of the pandemic, and the vaccine is no exception. I approach everything with a healthy dose of skepticism, and I, like many others, was concerned about the expediency with which this vaccine was developed and rolled out in comparison to other historical vaccines. But as I did research and learned more about the process, the points where they were expediting the timeline, and felt confident that the rigor of the science and safety were not compromised, I had no major concerns with getting it,” said Wright.

The FDA made an executive decision to bring the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to a halt after the issues with severe symptoms. Fortunately, Philip Glenn, teacher, has not been a victim of any of the symptoms that have been seen in patients after receiving the vaccine, and he puts his trust in healthcare officials and their decision-making.

“I have confidence in the process.They are operating out of an abundance of caution. I’m not particularly concerned about myself since it had been a month or so since I got the shot,” said Glenn.

The FDA plans to continue the pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine until they have fully resolved the issue. For now, they recommend that Americans make a choice between the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.