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Well Being

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine news proves it's vital to read articles and not just headlines

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine news proves it's vital to read articles and not just headlines

As a writer, few things grate my nerves like people reacting to a headline without actually reading the article, and yet it happens all the time. I've had people try to defend this practice ("It's your fault for writing the headline that way!") but no matter how it's written, a headline is never going to be a full story. Never ever. An article's worth of information cannot be encapsulated in 90-characters-or-less, and distilling the essence of a piece in a way that is both informative and inspires people to read it is more complicated than it looks.

On that note, let's talk about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine news that came out today, because people who don't read beyond the headlines are getting a skewed picture of the efficacy of this vaccine. Here are some samples of the wording major news organizations used in their headlines and social media share texts this morning:

"Covid vaccine: Single dose Covid vaccine 66% effective"BBC

"Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine 66% effective in global trial, company says" Fox News

"Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is 72% effective in the U.S., and 66% overall in large trial"Reuters

"Johnson & Johnson's single-dose Covid-19 vaccine was 66 percent effective at preventing moderate and severe disease in a global study"Politico

"Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, a global study finds" NPR

"Single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine 66% effective against moderate to severe covid-19, but worked less well in variant hot spot"Washington Post

I shudder to think of how many people are going to glance through the news, see headlines like this, and say to themselves "Oh, I guess the J & J vaccine basically sucks compared to the 95% effective mRNA ones." And I lament how many will not have the far more appropriate reaction of, "Wow, the J & J vaccine is 100% effective at preventing hospitalizations and death from COVID! How amazing!"

That's right. Zero hospitalizations and zero deaths in the 44,000 person trial—a hugely significant detail you'd miss if you only read those "66% effective" headlines. The vaccine is also 85% effective at preventing severe illness (presumably meaning bad symptoms but not quite bad enough to need hospitalization) 28 days after the shot, and 100% at preventing severe illness 49 days after. How is that not incredible news?





To read the 66% headlines—and even some full articles, surprisingly—you'd never know how effective this vaccine actually is in the ways that count the most. You might even assume that statistic means that 34% of people still have a chance of getting COVID and dying after getting this vaccine, when that's not the case at all.

The primary goal of COVID immunization is to keep people from dying and/or getting severely ill from the virus so we can return to normalcy as soon as possible. This vaccine does that. That's the detail that should be dominating the headlines. Of course, we'd love to see a vaccine that prevents all sickness, but that's a tall order for any inoculation. Even the 66% efficacy is good for a new vaccine, and if anything, it just goes to show how incredibly effective the mRNA versions are. But the bottom line is this is a life-saving vaccine, full stop.

That doesn't mean it's perfect or just as effective as the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. There are still questions about whether or not these vaccines can prevent people from carrying the virus, and there are some concerns about decreases in vaccine effectiveness on some of the variants we're seeing pop up around the world.

But there's a reason epidemiologists are still referring to this vaccine as a "game-changer."




One key feature of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is that it only requires a single dose. Considering the logistical and cost challenges of getting people to show up for two shots several weeks apart, that's a big deal. The vaccine also only requires refrigeration to be shipped and stored—unlike the Pfizer vaccine, which has to be kept at minus 70 degrees celsius—which opens up the door to getting far more people vaccinated far more quickly in far more places around the globe. In a pandemic like this one, those details do indeed change the game.

A repeated lament I've seen from many public health officials is that so much news coverage and messaging on COVID vaccines downplays how amazing it is that we even have them at this point, much less how effective they are. For a novel virus, vaccine development has gone incredibly well, and it is a testament to modern science and that we have several effective vaccines less than a year into a pandemic.

All of this is fabulous pandemic news, but you'd never know it if you only read the headlines.



The moral of this story is please, please, please always read articles in full before reacting. As much as I wish news outlets had avoided choosing to highlight the "66% effective" stat over the "100% hospitalization and death prevention" stat, I also know that there's no perfect way to write a headline. We're all bombarded by news and links, but people have to get over the habit of assuming a headline has all of the info, or even the most important info, and get in the habit of clicking and reading.

And if you've made it to this line, thank you for being part of the solution and not part of the problem. High five.

Planet

Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

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The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

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