TEXAS – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday jointly issued a recommendation to pause all administering of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine until further notice, pending further evaluation after reports of blood clots in six individuals.
The blood clotting incidents all occurred within six to 13 days after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and were all among women between the ages of 18 and 48. The type of clotting that occurred is cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), and happened in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia), according to the CDC and FDA announcement. While most blood clots are treated with an anticoagulant that stops blood thickening, the use of those drugs “may be dangerous,” the agencies said, “and alternative treatments need to be given.”
More than 6.8 million doses of the one-shot vaccine have been administered in the United States, making the complications exceptionally rare, however the agencies said the recommendation to halt administration until it can be researched further was made out of “an abundance of caution.”
More than 500,000 of those 6.8 million were given in Texas, and none of the six cases of blood clots occurred in the state, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported in a statement shortly after the CDC and FDA’s announcement. In response, the Texas Department of State Health Services on Tuesday echoed the request, asking vaccine providers in Texas to pause Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine injections.
On Wednesday, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices convened to further review the six cases and assess their potential significance. “This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot,” the CDC statement said.
“Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare and are being further evaluated to ensure vaccine safety,” the Texas DSHS said in a statement. The state advised providers that have or receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to continue to store it in the proper conditions and report any adverse effects their patients experience.
The CDC and FDA asked those who have received the vaccine in the past three weeks to seek medical help if experiencing certain symptoms, stating, “People who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.”