Misleading: Comparing J&J Blood Clot Rates to Birth Control Risks
The Claim
Hormonal birth control causes more blood clots than the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and is potentially more dangerous.
News posted on
Emerging story
Shortly after news spread that the U.S. had paused distribution of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine because of reported blood clots, many social media users began comparing these findings to the risks of blood clots related to hormonal birth control methods. The comparison seemed to highlight the abundance of caution being taken regarding vaccine side effects, as users claimed that the risk of birth control side effects are significantly higher than vaccine side effects.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that the risk of blood clots associated with birth control is much higher than the number of recorded cases of blood clots linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but comparing the two can be misleading. The type of blood clot in the six women who received the vaccination is different from the types of blood clots caused by birth control. In addition, Heparin, a medicine common for maintenance care against blood clots which breaks up clots after they form, would have been dangerous to the women in the Johnson & Johnson vaccination cases. There are several different types of clots and these six cases had to be treated with different methods.
In an article specifically informing women of the risk of blood clots associated with birth control, the National Blood Clot Alliance states, “While the absolute risk for a blood clot for the average woman taking birth control pills might be considered relatively low–about 1 in 300–the risk is much more significant” for women with other contributing factors.
In comparison, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine has been given more than 6.8 million times and there are six cases of blood clots with one death. In fact, the vaccine is not even proven to be the cause of the clots and is being paused out of precaution.
The CDC reports that 900,000 United States citizens get a blood clot every year and they result in 100,000 deaths. So, you normally have a 0.27% chance of getting a blood clot but if the Johnson and Johnson vaccine causes blood clots, with the current number of affected people, you have a .0000882% chance of getting a blood clot.
So, to summarize the numbers: a normal American has a 1 in 400 chance of getting a blood clot, a woman on birth control has a 1 in 300 chance of a blood clot, and the Johnson and Johnson vaccine possibly has a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of causing a blood clot, if it even causes them. The blood clots in the two situations are also different types and require different treatments. While we wait for more information and possibly more cases to come out, making sure we have the correct perspective is as vital as knowing your risk factors for blood clots.
