Breaking: US Suspends Use of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

Ololade Adeyanju/

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration have recommended that the United States pause the use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine over six reported cases of a “rare and severe” type of blood clot.

This six cases occurred among women aged 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred six to 13 days after vaccination, according to a joint statement, today, from Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC and Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

The six reported cases were among more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered in the United States.

In a statement, the CDC said, it will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) tomorrow to further review these cases and assess their potential significance.

“FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution. This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot,” the statement says.

According to the FDA, “treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered.”

This development follows the suspension of usage of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine n various countries following similar issue.