WASHINGTON —USA federal health agencies have on Tuesday called for pause on the use of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine after the emergence of a rare blood clotting.
The sudden halt across the country came as a rare blood-clotting disorder developed in six female recipients.
All six were women between the ages of 18 and 48, and all developed the illness within one to three weeks of vaccination, The New York Times reported.
One woman in Virginia was reported died, and a second woman in Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition after taking the vaccine.
“We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the C.D.C., said in a joint statement.
“Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare,” the statement added.
More than seven million people in the United States have received Johnson & Johnson shots so far, and another 10 million doses have been shipped out to the states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The vaccine will also be halted in the E.U.
Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it is aware of the rare disorder involving people with blood clots in combination with low platelets who have received its COVID-19 vaccine.
“In addition, we have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities. We have made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe,” they said in a statement. -Malaysia World NEWS
