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(CNN) -
The benefits of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen coronavirus vaccine still outweigh the potential risks, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ).
"Many hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths can be prevented by the Janssen and mRNA vaccines against covid-19, far outweighing the risks," CDC researcher Dr. Hannah Rosenblum told the Advisory Committee on Practices. Immunization Commission (ACIP) of the agency in a meeting on Thursday.
The Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are messenger RNA or mRNA vaccines.
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Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated the label for Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine to warn of the possible increased risk of a rare neurological complication known as syndrome. Guillain-Barré (SGB).
The FDA said 100 preliminary reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome had been submitted to the US government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, out of the 12.8 million Janssen vaccines administered.
While the FDA said it had not established that the vaccine could cause the syndrome, it noted an increase in reports of the sometimes crippling condition.
At Thursday's meeting, Rosenblum presented data illustrating how many COVID-19 cases could be prevented with every million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered, compared to how many complications from Guillain-Barré syndrome could arise.
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CDC data shows that for women ages 18 to 29, the vaccine would prevent 8,900 covid-19 cases and five deaths, and only one case of GBS could occur.
For men in that age group, 6,600 COVID-19 cases and three deaths would be prevented and only two GBS cases could occur.
For every 1 million doses given to women ages 30 to 49, data suggests that 10,100 COVID-19 cases and 20 deaths could be prevented compared to the risk of around six to seven GBS cases.
For men in that age group, 7,600 COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths could be prevented compared to the risk of around seven to eight GBS cases, according to CDC data.
For every 1 million doses given to women ages 50 to 64, data suggests that 12,100 COVID-19 cases and 120 deaths could be prevented compared to the risk of seven to eight GBS cases.
Among men, the vaccine would prevent about 10,100 COVID-19 cases and 140 deaths and carry the risk of between 14 and 17 GBS cases, according to CDC data.
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"Starting at age 65, the benefits are even greater," Rosenblum said.
Among women 65 and older, for every 1 million doses administered, about 29,000 COVID-19 cases and 840 deaths would be prevented compared to the risk of around eight to 10 GBS cases.
For men in that age group, around 36,600 COVID-19 cases and 2,300 deaths would be prevented, and seven to eight GBS cases could occur.
"The risk of developing Guillain-Barre after covid is far greater than the risk of any of the risks presented here," Dr. Joanne Waldstreicher, Johnson & Johnson's chief medical officer, told the meeting.
With approximately 100 GBS cases out of more than 12 million people in the US who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as of June 30, that gives "an overall notification rate of 8 cases per million people vaccinated," Waldstreicher said. .
"This is in the context of the different published GBS rates in the US, which have ranged from 1 to 5 cases per million people."
'Those risks must be declared'
Some ACIP members said Thursday they are still concerned about the potential risk of GBS, a neurological disorder in which the body's immune system can damage nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.
"I definitely agree that the overall benefits of COVID-19 vaccines far outweigh the risks," said Dr. Pablo Sánchez, ACIP member and pediatrician at Ohio State University-National Children's Hospital.
"However, I am concerned about the Janssen product," Sanchez said, calling the risks non-benign and, while rare, they are "quite significant."
"I have no problem keeping the Janssen product available, but I think those risks should be stated in advance to the person who is receiving that vaccine," Sanchez said.
"And personally, if it were my choice, at this point as far as I know, I would recommend messenger RNA vaccines over the Janssen product."
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Dr. Sarah Long, ACIP member and Drexel University pediatrician, said risks related to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines should also be part of the discussions.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use messenger RNA or mRNA to deliver the vaccine, while J&J uses an inactivated common cold virus called adenovirus.
In June, the FDA added a myocarditis and pericarditis risk warning to the fact sheets for Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccines against COVID-19.
The warning notes that reports of adverse events after vaccination, particularly after the second dose, suggest an increased risk of both types of cardiac inflammation.
One dose and you're done
Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine is given as a single dose, while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are two doses, given 21 and 28 days apart, respectively.
"It's important to have a single-dose product available," said ACIP Fellow Dr. Henry Bernstein, a pediatrician at Hofstra / Northell Zucker School of Medicine.
Bernstein also agreed that the benefits outweigh the risks.
"There are a lot of people who really want only one - the single-dose vaccine," said ACIP Fellow Dr. Sharon Frey, a vaccine specialist at St Louis University School of Medicine.
"The benefit-risk is skewed toward the benefit of receiving these vaccines in many ways," Frey added.
"If I were to receive these vaccines, knowing what data there is, I would like that data to be provided to me as a recipient of the vaccine, and I think that is what we should be able to achieve, make that data available to people so that they can choose what's best for them. "
covid-19 vaccine