The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have called for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be temporarily halted after multiple reported cases of blood clots.
“We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the C.D.C., said in a joint press release. “Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare.”
One woman has died after developing a rare disorder two weeks following the vaccination while another remains in critical condition. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine production division, Janssen, is denying any culpability for the public health disaster.
“We are aware that thromboembolic events including those with thrombocytopenia have been reported with Covid-19 vaccines. At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events and the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine,” Johnson & Johnson stated.
