Government Agencies Call For ‘Pause” In Use Of J&J Vaccine
Staff Report
WASHINGTON D.C. – The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday, April 13, officially recommended a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine “out of an abundance of caution.”
As of Monday, April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., the FDA said in a statement shared on Twitter Tuesday.
The CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine. Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare, the statement said.
CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases.
The statement said such a pause “is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.”