U.S. to resume Johnson & Johnson vaccinations despite rare blood clot risk
Updated Apr 23, 2021;
Posted Apr 23, 2021
FILE - In this March 3, 2021, file photo, U.S. Army medic Kristen Rogers, of Waxhaw, N.C., holds a vial of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine in North Miami, Florida. With the U.S. pause of the vaccine, authorities are weighing whether to resume the shots the way European regulators decided to with warnings of a “very rare” risk. New guidance is expected late Friday, April 23, after a government advisory panel deliberates a link between the shot and a handful of vaccine recipients who developed highly unusual blood clots.Marta Lavandier | AP Photo
The director of the CDC says use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can resume immediately. The vaccine's rollout had been paused after 15 cases of unusual blood clotting.
U.S. to resume Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccinations despite rare clot risk
Lauran Neergaard and Mike Stobbe
Associated Press
Bloomberg
A health care worker prepares a dose of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen COVID-19 vaccine at the Atlantic County vaccination megasite in Atlantic City, N.J., earlier this month.
U.S. health officials lifted an 11-day pause on COVID-19 vaccinations using Johnson & Johnson s single-dose shot on Friday, after scientific advisers decided its benefits outweigh a rare risk of blood clot.
The government uncovered 15 vaccine recipients who developed a highly unusual kind of blood clot, out of nearly 8 million people given the J&J shot. All were women, most under age 50. Three died, and seven remain hospitalized.
Apr 23, 2021 / 09:15 PM EST
(CNN) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration lifted their recommended pause on use of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine Friday and said the label will be updated to warn of blood clot risks.
Vaccinations could resume as soon as Saturday, the FDA said.
The agencies acted quickly after a vote by the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices recommended lifting the pause.
“We have concluded that the known and potential benefits of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine outweigh its known and potential risks in individuals 18 years of age and older,” acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in a statement.