WASHINGTON DC – U.S. federal authorities on Tuesday recommended “pausing” the administration of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots, in which at least one woman has died. at the time.
In a joint statement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said they were investigating the thrombi detected in six women in the days following vaccination, combined with a reduced platelet count.
Federal authorities said at a subsequent press conference on Tuesday that all affected women are between 18 and 48 years old. One woman died and a second Nebraska woman is hospitalized in serious condition.
“I know people are worried. If they were vaccinated a month ago, they have nothing to worry about. If they were vaccinated a few days ago, then they should be on target if they experience any of the symptoms. dangerous, “said Anne Schuchat, deputy director of the CDC, in a conference call.
“Dangerous” symptoms are different from flu-like symptoms that can be experienced in the hours or days after receiving the vaccine, Schuchat explained.
They can manifest in the first three weeks and include: headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain, or difficulty breathing three weeks after the injection.
More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine have been administered in the United States.
Currently, this vaccine makes up just a small percentage of the vaccines given in the US, due.
Jeff Zients, director of the team in charge of the federal government’s response to the pandemic, said the pause in Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine application will not affect the national vaccination campaign.
“We have more than 25 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines available each week … it’s more than enough to continue the current pace of about 3 million vaccinations a day,” Zients said in a statement.
USE OF VACCINE BRAINS IN FEDERAL CENTERS IN THE LARGE UNITED STATES
Federal distribution channels, including mass vaccination centers, will temporarily stop using the drug, and states and other providers are expected to do the same.
Two vaccines, that of Moderna and that of Pfizer, comprise the vast majority of inoculations administered in the United States and are not affected by the pause.
The CDC Immunization Practice Advisory Committee meets Wednesday to study the cases. The FDA has begun its own investigation.
“Until the process is complete, we recommend a pause in the use of this vaccine as a precaution,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, deputy director of the CDC, and Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biological Evaluation and Research at the FDA, in a joint statement.
THE DANGEROUS SYMPTOMS OF THE JOHNSON & JOHNSON VACCINE
Agencies recommend that those who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and have experienced headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain, or difficulty breathing for three weeks after the injection contact their doctor.
Authorities said they want to train vaccine manufacturers and health professionals on the “singular treatment” for these blood clots.
JOHNSON & JOHNSON’S ANSWER ON BLOOD CLAMS
Johnson & Johnson claimed he was on target for the clots, but has insisted that a link to his vaccine has not yet been unequivocally established.
“We are aware of thromboembolic events, even some with thrombocytopenia, have been reported in connection with COVID-19 vaccines,” the company said in a statement. “To date, no clear causal relationship has been established between these unusual events and the vaccine,” he added.
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was authorized as an emergency remedy by the FDA in late February with great ceremony, in the hope that, by requiring a single dose and relatively easy storage conditions, it would boost the campaign. of vaccination nationwide.