Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine administration has been suspended in the US following reported cases of blood clots among six of those who got the jab.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) who are the regulators on Tuesday stopped further administration of the vaccine.
The recipients, all women aged between 18 and 48 reportedly developed blood clots two weeks after getting the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 jab.
The Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 was developed by J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals division and 6.8 million does have been administered so far, data by CDC shows.
“The CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance,” FDA and CDC said in a joint statement.
The two agencies will also investigate the blood clotting cases among the six recipients.
“The FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.”
Clinical trials of the vaccines conducted in January showed that it was safe.
The single-dose vaccine proved effective in taming the spread of Covid-19 in adults.
The vaccine was then authorized for use in February.
With it halt, Afrian countries which hoped to use it for her people remains at pains not knowing what happens next.
Kenya through Africa CDC has expressed interest in the vaccine dues to its ease of storage and transportation. All it needs is normal refrigeration.
UK’s AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is currently in use in Kenya but will only serve a small fraction of the population in the country.
There are fears of blood clots developing after receiving jabs from bot vaccines.
A week ago, seven people died in the UK after developing blood clots after administration of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine.
