The CDC and FDA decided late last night to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine. This decision was taken after six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot were reported in the U.S… These cases were reported after more than 6.8 million doses of the vaccine have been administered across the nation.
Women between the ages of 18 and 48 developed blood clots. These clots appeared 6 to 13 days after they had been vaccinated according to a joint statement released by the FDA and the CDC. The health agencies have decided to proceed with caution as of now while they review the cases in detail on Wednesday.
As a result of this announcement by the FDA and the CDC mass vaccinations at sites using the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will be temporarily stopped. The federal health agencies are also advising the states to halt the administration of these vaccines but said that it was up to the individual states to do so.
While officials maintain that it is a rare occurrence, they also require health care providers to take time to understand the potential side effects and how to properly treat these effects. The pause had occurred as this side effect has not been listed when emergency approval was granted to the vaccine.
In a statement, Johnson & Johnson addressed the people who have taken their shot. The company said that those who have developed the following symptoms: severe headaches, abdominal pain, shortness of breath or leg pain after being vaccinated within a period of three weeks must contact their health care provider. The statement also reiterated that it is a rare event.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is an adenovirus vector vaccine. It is similar to the AstraZeneca vaccine that has been rolled out in the U.K., India, Europe and about 70 more countries. A few rare cases were of blood clots among women were also seen mainly in Europe after the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine. However, the WHO had said that the benefits outweigh the rare cases of clots. The vaccine mentioned the side effect in later batches.
