COVID-19: US recommends 'pause' on usage of Johnson & Johnson vaccine amid clot fears

The United States on April 13 has recommended a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine “out of an abundance of caution” as the authorities investigate the jabs connection with the blood clots. The US Food and Drug Administration and the Centres for Disease Control are currently determining the “potential significance” of the six cases reported of blood clots following the administration of J&J vaccine. In a tweet, US FDA said, “Until that process is complete, we are recommending this pause” even though the regulator said that as of Monday over 6.8 million doses of the vaccine have been used.

"CDC & FDA are reviewing data involving 6 reported U.S. cases of a rare & severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine. Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare," the FDA stated on Twitter. “Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered.”

“CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday 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 this pause. This is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot,” it added.

J&J in talks with the Indian government

The reports of clots caused US government to take precautionary measures as the vaccine-maker kickstarted talks with the Indian government to begin a clinical trial of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in the country. "We are in discussions with the Government of India with the objective of starting a bridging clinical study of our Janssen COVID-19 vaccine candidate in India, subject to local regulatory approvals," Johnson & Johnson India spokesperson said in an email reply

"At Johnson & Johnson, we remain fully focused on bringing a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine to people around the world, if authorised for use by local health authorities", the spokesperson added.

Image credits: AP