FDA and CDC issued a statement to halt the Johnson & Johnson #COVID19 vaccine after six recipients in the US developed a rare disorder involving blood clots.
6.8 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the US.
Johnson & Johnson said its tracking of side effects revealed “a small number of very rare events following vaccination. At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events and the Johnson & Johson COVID-19 vaccine.”
U.S. federal distribution channels, will pause the use of the J&J vaccine, states and other providers are expected to follow.
“Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said in a joint statement.
New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said: “As the CDC and FDA have said, any adverse events related to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine ‘appear to be extremely rare’ and, ‘People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.’
