Pause on J & J Vaccination in U.S. Continues as CDC Committee Asks for More Data

After federal health agencies in the U.S. recommended a temporary halt on using the Johnson & Johnson-Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on April 14 convened a 13-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to review the six reports of unusual blood clots occurring in people vaccinated with the shot. The ACIP sets policies for how any approved or, in the case of COVID-19, authorized, vaccines are to be used—when and how the shots should be given and to which age groups. After the meeting, the CDC said it would continue to recommend the pause. The committee heard from representatives from J&J-Janssen, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the CDC’s immunization working group, which met on April 12 when the two federal agencies’ jointly-run Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) picked up a potential trend of clotting associated with low platelet counts. All six cases the system identified were women, aged 18 to 48 years old, and involved cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST)—clotting in the veins that drain blood from the brain—occurring alongside low platelet counts. That combination is unusual; normally clotting is not associated with low platelets, but in this condition, the body develops antibodies that lower platelet levels and as a result can block blood flow. The CDC team monitoring the safety system were on the alert for clotting reports, given the recent spa...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news