CDC, FDA recommend pause of J&J coronavirus vaccine over blood clot concerns

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The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are recommending a pause on the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine after six cases of rare blood clots in individuals who received the vaccine in the United States.

More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the US, the vast majority with no or mild side effects. The CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving the rare blood clots that appeared six to 13 days after vaccination in women ages 18 to 48. On Wednesday, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet to discuss the cases.

“Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a joint statement.

For people who have received the J&J vaccine and are experiencing severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination, the CDC and FDA recommend contacting a health provider.

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