Tag: Vaccine

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Health

First U.S. Vaccine Donations Will Go to ‘Vast Vary’ of Nations in Want

First U.S. Vaccine Donations Will Go to ‘Wide Range’ of Nations in Need

And the president has pledged to donate up to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. However, these cans, which are also manufactured in the Emergent facility, are not approved for domestic use and may not be released in other countries until the regulatory authorities deem them safe. If they weren’t cleared for release, Mr. Biden would have to agree to donate more of the three vaccines used here in order to fulfill his 80 million pledge.

The president has described vaccine donations as part of an “entirely new effort” to increase vaccine supply and significantly expand manufacturing capacity, most of it in the United States. To further expand the offering, Mr. Biden recently announced that he would support the waiver of intellectual property protection for coronavirus vaccines. He also made Mr. Zients responsible for developing a global vaccine strategy.

But activists say it’s not enough to simply donate overdoses and support renunciation. They argue that Mr Biden needs to create the conditions for pharmaceutical companies to transfer their intellectual property to vaccine manufacturers abroad so that other countries can set up their own vaccine manufacturing operations.

Peter Maybarduk, director of the Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program, on Thursday called on the government to invest $ 25 billion in “urgent public vaccine manufacturing in locations around the world” to achieve eight billion doses of mRNA in one year. Technology and “share these vaccine recipes with the world.”

When asked recently whether the United States would be ready, Andrew Slavitt, a senior health advisor to the President, sidestepped the question, saying only that the United States would “play a leadership role” but still “global partners across the board.” World ”. ”

On Thursday, Mr Zients said the United States would repeal the Defense Production Act “priority assessment” for three vaccine manufacturers – AstraZeneca, Novavax and Sanofi – that do not make coronavirus vaccines for use in the United States. The shift means companies in the United States supplying vaccine manufacturers “can make their own decisions about which orders to fill first,” Zients said.

This could free up supplies for foreign vaccine manufacturers and allow other countries to ramp up their own programs.

Abdi Latif Dahir contributed to the coverage.

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Politics

White Home Outlines Plan to Ship 25 Million Vaccine Photographs Overseas

White House Outlines Plan to Send 25 Million Vaccine Shots Abroad

Mr. Biden came into office vowing to restore America’s position as a leader in global health, and he has been under increasing pressure from activists, as well as some business leaders, to do more to address the global vaccine shortage. Earlier this year, he said he was reluctant to give away vaccine doses until the United States had enough for its own population, though he did promise in March to send a total of four million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to Mexico and Canada.

Those doses, it turned out, were made at a Baltimore facility owned by Emergent BioSolutions, where production has since been put on hold after an incident of contamination.

Mr. Biden’s pledge to donate 80 million doses involves vaccines made by four manufacturers. Besides AstraZeneca, they are Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, the last three of which have received U.S. emergency authorization for their vaccines. The president announced last month that his administration would send 20 million doses of the authorized vaccines overseas in June — the first time he had pledged to give away doses that could be used in the United States. Officials did not say on Thursday why that number had been increased by five million.

Last month, Mr. Biden announced he would send one million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine to South Korea; a plane carrying those doses was expected to take off Thursday evening, Mr. Zients said.

Mr. Biden has also pledged to donate up to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, but those doses, also made at the Emergent plant, are not authorized for domestic use and cannot be released until regulators deem them safe. In March, his administration committed to providing financial support to help Biological E, a major vaccine manufacturer in India, produce at least one billion doses of coronavirus vaccines by the end of 2022.

The president has described the vaccine donations as part of an “entirely new effort” to increase vaccine supplies and vastly expand manufacturing capacity, most of it in the United States. To broaden supply further, Mr. Biden recently announced he would support waiving intellectual property protections for coronavirus vaccines. He also put Mr. Zients in charge of developing a global vaccine strategy.

But activists say simply donating excess doses and supporting the waiver is not enough. They argue that Mr. Biden must create the conditions for pharmaceutical companies to transfer their intellectual property to vaccine makers overseas, so that other countries can stand up their own vaccine manufacturing operations.

Mr. Zients also said the United States was lifting the Defense Production Act’s “priority rating” for three vaccine makers — AstraZeneca, Novavax and Sanofi. None of those vaccines are authorized for U.S. use, and the shift means that U.S.-based companies that supply the vaccine makers will be able to “make their own decisions on which orders to fulfill first,” Mr. Zients said.

Abdi Latif Dahir contributed reporting.

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Health

Do vaccine incentives work? Krispy Kreme says freebies have helped

Do vaccine incentives work? Krispy Kreme says freebies have helped

What will it take to convince people to get vaccinated against Covid? From free doughnuts to million-dollar payouts, public and private groups are trying it all.

In March, Krispy Kreme was one of the first businesses to roll out a nationwide Covid vaccine incentive, offering a free glazed doughnut to any adult with a vaccination card.

Since then, the company said it has given away more than 1.5 million doughnuts. (The offer still stands through the remainder of the year.)

“We were the first national brand to launch a campaign to show support for Americans choosing to get vaccinated, and we were hopeful that others would join us,” said Dave Skena, chief marketing officer at Krispy Kreme.

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“So, it’s very gratifying to see so many companies, organizations, communities and even state governments encouraging and incentivizing people to protect themselves and others by getting vaccinated.”

While some states, like New Jersey and Connecticut, are offering a free beer or nonalcoholic beverage to encourage more people to get vaccinated against Covid, others like Ohio and Maryland have gone much further. 

Last week, Maryland held the first of its $40,000 lottery drawings for people who have been vaccinated. There will be 40 consecutive days of drawings for a $40,000 prize, ending on July 4 with a final drawing for a $400,000 payout.

Ohio is also holding a series of drawings for cash prizes, although its “Vax-a-Million” contest ups the ante significantly.

The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that about half of the U.S. population has had at least one shot — and yet, the pace of Covid vaccinations has slowed nationwide.

Incentives may become increasingly important to move the needle from here, according to Bob Bollinger, a professor of infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and inventor of the emocha Health app.

“It really depends on what the barriers are that people have about getting vaccinated,” Bollinger said. The higher those barriers are, the harder they are to overcome, he added.

A handful of states have reported that vaccine incentive programs have increased local vaccination numbers in some demographics after recent drops.

For its part, Ohio said its vaccination rates doubled in some counties after the state vaccine lottery was announced.

Recent data shows that the gambit might be more effective among certain demographics, but with little downside overall, according to a report by Morning Consult.

The poll of 2,200 adults, including nearly 1,600 people who are unvaccinated, found that men are more inclined than women to say these offers would make them sign up to receive a shot. Democrats, more than Republicans, also said they’d be more likely to get vaccinated if they could get free goods or services and, when broken down by generation, millennials were the most likely to say certain freebies would motivate them to get vaccinated.

An earlier survey by Blackhawk Network found that more than two-thirds of adults said they would accept a monetary incentive ranging from as little as $10 to as much as $1,000. One-third said they would get vaccinated for $100 or less. Blackhawk Network polled more than 2,000 adults in January.

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Business

E.E.O.C. Explains Office Vaccine Mandates

E.E.O.C. Explains Workplace Vaccine Mandates

At the urging of business groups, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has made clear how companies can issue vaccine mandates to workers coming back to the office, and what incentives those employers can offer to promote inoculation.

Companies can require vaccines only of employees returning to the workplace, and not those who work outside the office, the E.E.O.C. said in guidance released on Friday. But doing so still counts as a mandate, so companies must give the same legally required considerations that companywide vaccine requirements would entail, like making accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act for employees who can’t receive the vaccine. That means allowing for exceptions for those who may be unable to take the vaccine for health reasons, like an allergy.

Jessica Kuester, an employment benefits lawyer at the law firm Ogletree Deakins, said that specification was important. “I worry that some employers were sort of going down the wrong path, and thinking that it wasn’t that big of a deal to have a vaccination requirement,” she said.

The E.E.O.C. acknowledged in its guidance there may be other laws — like state laws — that offer opposing views. And it reminded employers to consider the fact that access to the vaccine is not yet equitably distributed.

“Employers should keep in mind that because some individuals or demographic groups may face greater barriers to receiving a Covid-19 vaccination than others, some employees may be more likely to be negatively impacted by a vaccination requirement,” the agency wrote.

Employers can also offer vaccine incentives, as long as they are not coercive, the E.E.O.C. clarified. (Under nondiscrimination rules laid out in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that could mean, for example, offering 30 percent discount of the total cost of medical plan coverage).

Employers can offer enticements like paid time off to get vaccinated — which Darden Restaurants and many other companies have done, as well as rewards for employees who show proof of inoculation, like the $75 bonus that Walmart is offering. Companies have also been offering the opportunity to go mask-free at the office as a type of inducement, though several aren’t asking for proof of vaccination, perhaps as a concession to practicality.

“Are you really going to go around and, when you see an employee without a mask, are you going to run back to H.R. and verify that that person really was fully vaccinated?” Ms. Kuester said.

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Health

U.S. begins research testing mix-and-match Covid vaccine doses

U.S. begins study testing mix-and-match Covid vaccine doses

A healthcare doctor prepares a dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) vaccine for a commuter during the opening of MTA’s public vaccination program on the 179th Street subway station in the Queens borough of New York City in front. USA, May 12, 2021.

Shannon Stapleton | Reuters

The National Institutes of Health announced Tuesday that they had started an early-stage clinical trial looking into what happens when an adult fully vaccinated with a type of Covid-19 vaccine like Pfizer’s is boosted with another vaccination about three to four months later.

The study will enroll approximately 150 adults who have received any of the three Covid vaccination regimens currently available under the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency approval: Johnson & Johnsons, Moderna, or Pfizer.

Federal health officials said people who have not yet received an approved vaccine are also eligible to enroll in a separate group for the study. These volunteers will receive two doses of the vaccine from Moderna and will receive a booster dose of one of the three vaccines around 12 to 20 weeks later, officials said.

“Although the vaccines currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration offer strong protection against COVID-19, we must prepare for the possibility that booster vaccinations will be required to counter declining immunity and step up with an evolving virus said Dr Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a member of the NIH.

“The results of this study are intended to inform public health policy decisions about the potential use of mixed vaccination schedules in the event that booster doses are indicated,” he added.

The study is taking place as drug makers and some scientists are now saying that people will likely need a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccines and possibly additional vaccinations every year, just like they did with seasonal flu.

Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines currently require two doses three to four weeks apart, while Johnson & Johnson vaccines only require one prick. All three vaccines have been shown to be highly effective against Covid, although company executives now expect this strong protection to wear off over time.

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said last month that Covid-19 booster vaccinations could be required for fully vaccinated individuals within a year.

“So, hopefully, you know, it would be nice if it turned out it would be a year before someone needed a refresher,” said Marks on the 18th of school and junior journalists.

“But we still don’t know,” he added. “It could be more, it could be a little less, but … that’s just something we need to find out over time.”

Each vaccine group in the NIH study will enroll about 25 people ages 18 to 55 and about 25 people ages 56 and older.

Twelve to 20 weeks after their initial vaccination, participants in the study will receive a single booster dose of the Moderna vaccine.

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World News

Sinovac Coronavirus Vaccine Licensed by WHO for Emergency Use

Sinovac Coronavirus Vaccine Authorized by WHO for Emergency Use

The World Health Organization has released a coronavirus vaccine from the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac for an emergency, the agency said on Tuesday.

The decision, made about a month after the agency approved another Chinese emergency vaccine from Sinopharm, means that Sinovac’s vaccine may be included in Covax, a worldwide initiative to deliver coronavirus vaccines to countries low income.

There is an urgent need for vaccines in countries and regions where the virus is increasing, such as India, much of Southeast Asia, and South America. Adding another vaccine to the distributional calculus could help meet that demand.

Sinovac’s vaccine, called CoronaVac, was developed using inactivated viruses, a technique that has been used for over a century.

Clinical trials with CoronaVac in Brazil and Turkey produced very different results, but both showed that the vaccine protected against Covid-19.

According to Oxford University’s Our World in Data project, the vaccine is already approved in 29 countries, including China, Brazil and Mexico.

CoronaVac is given in two doses over two to four weeks and is easier to store than those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which must be frozen for long-term storage.

The WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference on Tuesday that CoronaVac’s easy storage makes it very useful for the “resource poor environments” that need it most.

So far, an overwhelming proportion of vaccine doses have gone to affluent countries, and many of them are returning to an approach to normal life as the virus ravages less affluent countries.

“The world desperately needs multiple Covid-19 vaccines to eradicate the huge inequality of access around the world,” said Dr. Mariângela Simão, WHO Deputy Director General for Access to Health Products, in a statement.

At the press conference on Tuesday, Dr. Tedros and officials from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group and World Trade Organization launched a new push to secure $ 50 billion to boost the manufacture and distribution of coronavirus vaccines and other medical supplies and treatments to poorer countries.

“An increasingly two-pronged pandemic is causing a two-pronged economic recovery with negative repercussions for all countries,” said Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF on Effective Way to Boost Global Production. In other words, vaccination policy is economic policy. “

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Health

Moderna Seeks Full F.D.A. Approval for Covid Vaccine

Moderna Seeks Full F.D.A. Approval for Covid Vaccine

Moderna was the next pharmaceutical company to file with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday for full approval of its coronavirus vaccine for use in people aged 18 and over.

Last month Pfizer and BioNTech filed with the agency for full approval of their vaccines for use in people 16 years and older.

“We look forward to working with the FDA and will continue to submit data from our Phase 3 study and complete the ongoing filing,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, in a statement.

Moderna’s emergency vaccine was approved in December, and by Sunday more than 151 million doses had been administered in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“I think there are a lot of people on the fence who are worried that things are moving too fast and about possible side effects,” said Dr. William Schaffner, National Foundation for Infectious Diseases medical director and vaccine expert. “But those concerns are allayed as they see more of their friends and acquaintances celebrating their vaccination.”

Jan Hoffman contributed to the coverage.

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Health

The Covid Vaccine Is Free, however Not Everybody Believes That

The Covid Vaccine Is Free, but Not Everyone Believes That

When Paul Moser thinks about getting a coronavirus vaccine, he also thinks about his outstanding medical debt: $ 1,200 from some urological visits he couldn’t pay for.

Mr. Moser, 52-year-old gas station cashier in New York State, has friends who have been surprised by bills for coronavirus testing, and fear the same could happen to the vaccine. At the moment he is holding back with his admission.

“We were told by lawmakers that all testing should be free, and then it’s surprising that it costs $ 150,” he said. “I agree that getting vaccinated is important, but I have no sense of urgency.”

Congress passed laws banning pharmacies and hospitals from charging patients for coronavirus vaccines. Signs at vaccination centers indicate that vaccination is free. From the start, health officials and government leaders have told the public it won’t cost anything. And there have been few reports of people being charged.

Even so, some unvaccinated adults cite concerns about a surprising bill as a reason not to get the vaccination. Many of them are used to a healthcare system where the bills are frequent, high, and often unexpectedly high.

A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that about a third of unvaccinated adults were unsure whether insurance would cover the new vaccine and feared they would have to pay for the vaccine. Concern was particularly high among Hispanic and Black respondents.

“The conversations we have are like, ‘Yeah, I know it’s good. Yes, I want it, but I don’t have insurance, ‘”said Ilan Shapiro, medical director of AltaMed, a community health network in southern California that serves a large Hispanic population. “We’re trying to make sure everyone knows it’s free.”

The confusion may be due to a lack of information or a skepticism that a doctor’s visit will not be followed by a bill. Liz Hamel, director of survey research at Kaiser, said it might reflect people’s experience of the healthcare system: “People might have heard it was free but they don’t believe it.”

Congress has tried to protect patients from bills for coronavirus vaccines and tests. At the start of the pandemic, it ordered insurers forego co-payments and deductibles for both services and set up a fund to reimburse doctors who see uninsured patients.

Even so, patients faced bills for tests – some for over $ 1,000. Some doctors billed uninsured patients for testing instead of the new federal fund. Others have charged unexpected fees and services for the test visit.

The rules for billing vaccines have been tightened. In order to become vaccinated, doctors and pharmacies had to sign a contract in which they did not charge patients for vaccinations.

The stronger protection seems to have worked. While many patients have come across coronavirus bills for testing – the New York Times has documented dozens of cases in bills submitted by readers – there have only been a handful of vaccines.

Still, some unexpected charges have been flunked: Patients in Illinois, North Carolina, and Colorado have incorrectly received vaccination bills. In all cases, the vaccine providers have reversed the charges and apologized for the mistakes.

The federal government has received some complaints about unexpected fees and recently warned doctors not to bill patients.

Surprising bills for coronavirus vaccines, tests, and other medical supplies can make an impression on patients. According to a 2013 study by Lucie Kalousova by Lucie Kalousova, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Riverside, Americans with medical debt are more likely to skip required care than people with other types of debt, such as outstanding credit card bills or student loans.

“For someone in medical debt, they may be told by the media and everyone else that the vaccine is free, but they have also had this very negative, previous encounter with the medical system that has generated suspicion. ” She said.

Some patients worried about the cost of a coronavirus vaccine said they always expect a bill after a doctor’s appointment. Quoting stories from friends or family members who ended up having expensive coronavirus tests and treatment bills, they wondered why the vaccine would be any different.

“This is America – your health care ain’t free,” said Elizabeth Drummond, a 42-year-old Oregon mother who is not vaccinated. “I just have a feeling that this is how the vaccination process will work. They will try to capitalize on it. “

It’s also possible that survey research is exaggerating how many Americans are afraid of receiving a surprise vaccine bill. When the Times conducted follow-up interviews with the help of Kaiser, some respondents expressing this concern said it didn’t matter much to them.

Instead, they said they acted like this to express their frustration with the vaccine or the general American healthcare system.

“Cost is the smallest detail,” said Cody Sirman, a 32-year-old who works in manufacturing in Texas who chose not to get vaccinated. He said he wouldn’t mind paying for the vaccine if he trusted him – but he doesn’t: “I think the vaccine is a complete farce. It was just a way to see how much control the government can have over the population. “

For many, the potential cost of a vaccine is only part of a set of reasons to stay unvaccinated. It can often be difficult for pollsters to pinpoint the determining factor – or even identify patients. Separate research by the Census Bureau last month found Americans were more concerned about vaccine side effects than potential fees.

“Most people don’t say they are only concerned about one thing; Usually there are many, ”says Ms. Hamel from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Tiffany Addotey, a 42-year-old school bus driver in North Carolina, has concerns about the cost. This is mainly due to their experience of taking a coronavirus test.

“It worries me that some places were charging $ 200 for coronavirus testing,” she said. “I haven’t paid. I went home. I already have enough bills. “

There are other things that concern them, such as the safety of the vaccine given its rapid development, as well as Johnson & Johnson’s recent vaccination hiatus.

When Ms. Addotey was informed that federal law makes the vaccine free for all Americans, she replied, “So I just have to pay my co-payment?”

Learning that it was really going to be free, with no additional payment, “helped a little,” she said. But it wasn’t enough to reassure her with the vaccination, at least not yet.

“I’ll try and wait a little longer,” she said. “I feel like I’ll get it after a little more research and a little more time.”

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Health

It is not vaccine passport, however extra journey CLEAR post-pandemic

It's not vaccine passport, but more travel CLEAR post-pandemic

CLEAR, a New York City-based company that specializes in biometric security that originally started pumping travelers through growing airport lines in the post-9/11 period, now sees a huge opportunity with the country covered by the Covid -19 pandemic is excluded.

CLEAR recently released a product called Health Pass that links Covid-19 health information to biometric identifiers such as face, eyes and fingerprints.

Since its launch, Health Pass has made significant strides, especially in stadiums that host sporting events and need to quickly check the status of many people. In February, 100 vaccinated health care workers were able to participate in the Super Bowl by checking their status on the Health Pass. A third of the NBA teams use the app to enforce their Covid protocols for fans. People who attend NHL hockey games in Arizona also use the Health Pass.

The post-pandemic innovation pushed CLEAR to 19th place on this year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list.

“What we determined in March 2020 was that there will be a new card in your wallet that contains a vaccination card or test results,” CLEAR co-founder and CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker said on CNBC’s TechCheck on Wednesday. “So it has always been part of our mission to connect you to your health insights related to Covid.

More coverage of the 2021 CNBC Disruptor 50

As more people get vaccinated and concerts, sporting events and large gatherings reopen, it is becoming more and more likely that customers will need to digitally submit their Covid vaccination or testing status in order to be approved.

“September 11th changed the way people thought about securing their building or stadium,” Seidman-Becker said last month in a virtual town hall for members of the CNBC Technology Executive Council. “It has raised awareness of security and, in particular, internal security.”

No “vaccination pass”

The CEO of CLEAR emphasized that the company’s technology should not be tied to the idea of ​​a vaccination card. “We’re not talking about a vaccination record. We’re talking about giving people control and access to their health information about what happened before,” she said on CNBC on Wednesday. “So many trends accelerated in 2020 and we see this as a major … ongoing trend … people should have access and control over their information.”

US officials have said they are largely relying on people to be honest about their vaccination status, and retailers and hotel chains have said they have no intention of looking for evidence of vaccine. However, some retailers like Walmart have partnered with CLEAR to offer the Health Pass.

Investment groups involved in the NFL and restaurant mogul Danny Meyer recently participated in a venture capital round for the company, and the Shake Shack founder’s Union Square Hospitality Group has used the technology to bring back indoor dining.

“We offer it to employers, but we also offer it to consumers free of charge so that they can link their health insights to their CLEAR Health Pass,” said Seidman-Becker. “We partnered with Walmart, but we also partnered with the NBA to help people get back into stadiums or reopen offices.”

“Frankly, this is a pervasive problem that makes experiences safer and easier,” she added.

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Health

A Vaccine Aspect Impact Leaves Ladies Questioning: Why Isn’t the Capsule Safer?

A Vaccine Side Effect Leaves Women Wondering: Why Isn’t the Pill Safer?

Last month, as the Food and Drug Administration paused use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine to evaluate the risk of blood clots in women under 50, many scientists noted that clots associated with birth control pills were much more common.

The comparison was intended to reassure women of the vaccine’s safety. Instead, it has stoked anger in some quarters — not about the pause, but about the fact that most contraceptives available to women are hundreds of times riskier, and yet safer alternatives are not in sight.

The clots linked to the vaccine were a dangerous type in the brain, while birth control pills increase the chances of a blood clot in the leg or lung — a point quickly noted by many experts. But the distinction made little difference to some women.

“Where was everyone’s concern for blood clots when we started putting 14-year-old girls on the pill,” one woman wrote on Twitter.

Another said, “If birth control was made for men it’d taste like bacon and be free.”

Some women heard, on social media and elsewhere, that they should not complain because they had chosen to take birth control knowing the risks involved. “That just made me double down,” said Mia Brett, an expert in legal history focused on race and sexuality. “This is such a common response to women’s health care — that we point out something and it’s dismissed.”

The torrent of fury online was familiar to experts in women’s health. “They should be angry — women’s health just does not get equal attention,” said Dr. Eve Feinberg, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist at Northwestern University. “There’s a huge sex bias in all of medicine.”

Dr. Feinberg and many of the women online acknowledge that contraceptives have given women control over their fertility, and the benefits far exceed the harms. Rebecca Fishbein, a 31-year-old culture writer, started tweeting about the inadequacy of birth control pills almost immediately after the announcement of the pause.

Still, “birth control is an incredible invention, thank God we have it,” she said last month in an interview. “I’ll fight anyone who tried to take it away.”

Contraceptives have also improved over the years, with intrauterine devices and oral options that offer an ultralow dose of estrogen. “Over all, it’s incredibly safe,” Dr. Feinberg said. “Everything that we do has risks.”

But Dr. Feinberg said it was crucial for health care providers to discuss the risks with their patients and coach them on worrisome symptoms — a conversation many women said they had never had.

Kelly Tyrrell, a communications professional in Madison, Wis., was 37 when doctors discovered potentially fatal blood clots in her lungs.

Ms. Tyrrell is an endurance athlete — wiry, strong and not prone to anxiety. In early 2019, she began waking up with a pain in her left calf. After one particularly bad morning, an urgent care visit revealed that she had high blood levels of “D dimer,” a protein fragment that indicates the presence of clots.

She had been taking birth control pills for 25 years, but none of the doctors made a connection. Instead, they said that given her age, fitness and the lack of other risk factors, her symptoms were unlikely to be from a blood clot. They sent her home with instructions to do stretches for her calf muscle.

When she felt a tightness in her chest while running in Hawaii after her grandmother’s funeral, doctors said the cause was probably stress and anxiety. In July 2019, she finished a 100K race in Colorado and assumed her aching lungs and purple lips were the result of running for 19 hours at a high altitude.

But she knew something was seriously wrong on the morning of Oct. 24, 2019, when she became short of breath after walking up a short flight of stairs.

This time, after ruling out heart problems, doctors scanned her lungs and discovered multiple clots. One had cut off blood flow to a portion of her right lung.

“I instantly burst into tears,” Ms. Tyrrell recalled. The doctors put her on a course of blood thinners — and told her never to touch estrogen again. Ms. Tyrrell switched to a copper IUD. Over time, she added, the incident had escalated into a sharp rage that was renewed by the Johnson & Johnson news.

“Part of my anger was that a medication that I took to control my fertility ended up threatening my mortality,” she said. “I’m angry that I hadn’t been counseled better about that risk, or even what to look for.”

Emily Farris, 36, was prescribed oral contraceptives at age 18 to help with migraines. In all of the conversations she has had with her many doctors over the years, “never once was blood clots brought up,” she said in an interview.

On Twitter, some critics pointed out that the inserts with birth control packs clearly describe the blood clot risk. “My response is a bit incredulous to that,” said Dr. Farris, a political scientist at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

The inserts for most medications have a long list of possible side effects, placing “a high burden for folks to try to sort through medical research, to sort through what probability and statistics mean,” she said.

Even with a Ph.D.-level education, “I can’t assess those risks,” Dr. Farris added. “I think most Americans need someone to translate what the legalese kind of pamphlet is into real terms.”

For Ms. Tyrrell, that elucidation came much too late. Her lungs have not felt the same since her diagnosis, but she is not sure whether that is because of lingering damage from a previous blood clot, new clots that she should be worried about or simply her age, she said, adding, “It’s never not on my mind anymore.”