Story at a glance
- Federal health agencies are expected to ask Tuesday to immediately halt use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after six women developed a rare condition leading to blood clots.
- The women who developed the disorder were between the ages of 18 and 48.
- One of the women died and another is hospitalized in Nebraska in critical condition.
Federal health agencies are asking Tuesday to immediately halt use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after six women developed a rare condition leading to blood clots within two weeks of vaccination, The New York Times reported.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug administration said in a joint statement that it is “recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution” while the cases are reviewed.
“Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously,” the statement said.
The six women who developed a rare disorder that led to clotting were between the ages of 18 and 48, according to the Times. One of the women died and another in Nebraska was hospitalized and in critical condition, according to the paper. The women developed cerebral venous sinus thrombosis within 13 days of vaccination.
Roughly 7 million people have received the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, CDC data shows. Vaccines from Modern and Pfizer account for a majority of inoculations.
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Potential links between the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the disorder will be examined by scientists from the CDC and the FDA, the Times reported. Under the immediate pause, scientists are working to determine if the FDA should limit authorization of the vaccine.
An FDA spokesperson declined to comment to The New York Times on the matter.
Similar issues in Europe have drawn concern, as regulators monitor issues with the vaccine produced by AstraZeneca and Oxford University researchers, the Times reported. The AstraZeneca vaccine has not received FDA approval for administration in the U.S.
Nearly 190 million vaccines have been administered so far in the U.S., according to CDC data.
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