Blocking J & J and AstraZeneca Vaccines Shows the FDA Has Not Changed Its Stripes

Michael F. CannonThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration is recommending the federal government and state governments stop administering Johnson& Johnson’s Covid‐​19 vaccine. Some 7 million Americans have received the vaccine, whose regimen requires only one dose. The FDA issued the recommendation afterreports that six women between the ages of 18 and 48 developed blood clots after taking the vaccine. One of the women is in a  hospital in critical condition. Another died. While the FDA’s recommendation is merely advisory, it is likely to halt vaccinations at federal facilities. Statesincluding Ohio, New York, andConnecticut have paused their administration of J&J ’s vaccine. Critics fear that stopping the use of the vaccine will leave many Americans without protection from the virus and weaken confidence in all Covid‐​19 vaccines.According to theNew York Times:the concerns about Johnson& Johnson’s vaccine mirror concerns about AstraZeneca’s, which European regulators began investigating last month after some recipients developed blood clots.Out of 34 million people who received the vaccine in Britain, the European Union and three other countries, 222 experienced blood clots that were linked with a  low level of platelets. The majority of these cases occurred within the first 14 days following vaccination, mostly in women under 60 years of age.On April 7, the European Medicines Agency, the main regulatory agency,concluded that the disorder was a  very r...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs