Covid-19: FDA recommendation to freeze the use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

REUTERS

The US health authorities have recommended freezing the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against Covid-19 as a matter of "excessive caution" at a time when investigating any possible link between it and cases of blood clots, according to the US Food and Drug Administration, on Tuesday.

The US administration confirmed via Twitter that it and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are evaluating the "potential significance" of six recorded cases of rare blood clots in patients who received the vaccine.

It stated that it "recommends a freeze until this process is completed."

"Until that process is complete, we recommend a temporary halt," the tweet said.

Today FDA and @CDCgov issued a statement regarding the Johnson & Johnson # COVID19 vaccine. We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

- US FDA (@US_FDA) April 13, 2021

The US health authorities announced Friday that they had not yet found a "causal" link between the "Johnson & Johnson" vaccine and blood clots, while the European Medicines Agency said it was studying the matter after recording four possible cases.

The US Food and Drug Administration stated, in a statement, that "at the present time, we have not found a causal relationship with vaccination and we are continuing our investigation and evaluation of these cases."

The regulatory agency stated that it was aware that "a small number of individuals" in the United States suffered from blood clots and low levels of platelets in the blood after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

She added in her statement that "it is possible that both cases have different causes," and "we will keep public opinion informed as we progress further."

On Friday, the European Medicines Agency said that it was studying blood clots after taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, after recording four cases, including one death.

The authority stated that its safety committee "has started studying reports to verify cases of blood clots after vaccination."

Source: REUTERS