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In this file photo taken on March 4, 2021, a pharmacist handles a Johnson & Johnson in Boston, Massachusetts (Joseph Prezioso / AFP)
AP US 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.
But ultimately Friday, federal health officials decided that J&J’s one-and-done vaccine is critical to fight the pandemic and that the small clot risk could be handled with warnings to help younger women decide if they should use that shot or an alternative.
Johnson & Johnson s COVID-19 vaccines are kept refrigerated at the Forem vaccination center in Pamplona, Spain on April 22, 2021. Credit: REUTERS/Vincent West
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Texas health officials on Friday told vaccine providers across the state that they could resume using the one-dose COVID-19 Johnson & Johnson vaccine in all adult recipients after a federal health advisory panel recommended it be reinstated. The recommendation came 11 days after use of that particular vaccine was paused over a small number of reports of a rare but serious clotting side effect in recipients.
US to resume J&J COVID vaccinations
By Lauran Neergaard and Mike Stobbe - Associated Press
FILE - In this March 3, 2021, file photo, a vial of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is displayed at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y. 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. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
J&J vaccine pause lifted by US health regulators
The director of the FDA has said use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can resume immediately, as the benefits outweigh the risks. The vaccine s rollout had been paused after 15 recipients developed rare blood clots.
The J&J vaccine had been linked to rare cases of blood clotting.
US health officials on Friday lifted an 11-day pause on using the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, following the recommendation by a panel of experts from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 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, said Janet Woodcock, head of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a joint statement with the CDC.
Panel urges restarting J&J vaccine, saying benefits outweigh risk
Lauran Neergaard and Mike Stobbe Associated Press and David C.L. Bauer Journal-Courier
April 24, 2021
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U.S. health advisers on Friday urged resuming COVID-19 vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose shot, saying its benefits outweigh a rare risk of blood clots in line with Europe’s roll out.
Federal health officials 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.
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said while J&J’s vaccine is important for fighting the pandemic, it’s also critical that younger women be told about that risk in clear, understandable terms so they can decide if they’d rather choose an alternate vaccine instead.