Federal drug safety regulators recommend the U.S. pause use of the\u00a0Johnson & Johnson\u00a0COVID-19 vaccine after “extremely rare” reports of blood clots in people who get the vaccine.<\/p>\n
The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating six cases involving vaccinated women who developed blood clots, called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST),\u00a0in combination with low levels of blood platelets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0women were between the ages of 18 and 48 and experienced symptoms six to 13 days after vaccination. One woman died, and another remains in critical condition, federal health officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a rare and severe type of blood clot that\u00a0forms in the brain\u2019s venous sinuses and prevents\u00a0blood from draining out of the brain, according to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
It can occur in two to 14 people out of 1 million with normal blood platelet counts each year, said Peter Marks,\u00a0director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s notable in the Johnson & Johnson cases is that the six patients had both cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and extremely low platelet counts, a condition known as thrombocytopenia.<\/p>\n
\u00a0“It\u2019s their occurrence together that makes a pattern, ” Marks said.\u00a0\u201cAnd that pattern is very, very similar to what was seen in Europe with other vaccines,\u201d referring to the AstraZeneca vaccine.<\/p>\n
Although\u00a0an anticoagulant drug heparin is commonly used to treat blood clots, health officials say using this drug could be dangerous and recommend medical providers use alternative treatments.<\/p>\n
It depends on when you received the vaccine. For those who received the J&J vaccine a month ago or longer, the risk of developing these rare blood clots is very low, said\u00a0Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s\u00a0principal deputy director.<\/p>\n
Others, who received the vaccine over the past couple of weeks, should monitor for symptoms such as severe headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain\u00a0or shortness or breath. Individuals who develop such symptoms should contact a health care provider and seek medical treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Now these symptoms are different than the mild flu-like symptoms, fever and so forth, that many people have experienced in the couple of days after they have received the vaccine,”\u00a0Schuchat said.<\/p>\n
People who have appointments for the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines during the coming days or weeks should keep them. There have been no reports of such blood clots from those who received those authorized vaccines. Health officials are working to reschedule people who have\u00a0J&J vaccine appointments in the coming days.<\/p>\n
“This may be a bit bumpy,” Schuchat said. “We want to make sure we\u2019re getting the word out to the public and to our providers.”<\/p>\n
The J&J\u00a0vaccine is one of three COVID vaccines to receive FDA emergency use authorization and the only single-dose vaccine. The other two vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech require two shots to be administered.<\/p>\n
White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator\u00a0Jeff Zients said pausing the J&J vaccine “will not have a significant impact” on the Biden administration’s vaccination plan.<\/p>\n
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was the third vaccine authorized, and represents less than\u00a05% of COVID-19 vaccines administered in the\u00a0United States so far. Zients said the nation has enough Pfizer and Moderna doses for 300 million Americans, enough supply to\u00a0administer 3 million shots per day.<\/p>\n
Federal health officials wanted to notify the public and medical community to monitor for these rare cases. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
While heparin is commonly used for blood clots, such a standard treatment might cause \u201ctremendous harm, or the outcome can become fatal,\u201d when used on people in these cases, Marks said<\/p>\n
Doctors who treat patient with blood clots and low blood platelets should ask the patients about recent vaccinations. This will allow doctors to diagnose and tailor any potential treatments.<\/p>\n
The J&J vaccination pause is meant to give doctors time to learn about diagnosing, treating and reporting these rare cases. \u201cThe decision was based on the events that might occur between when we made that realization and when we got the word out,\u201d Schuchat said.<\/p>\n
That will vary depending on where you are getting vaccinated. Because this news just came out Tuesday morning, vaccination sites will be scrambling to contact patients scheduled for the next few days first. They will then be waiting for recommendations from FDA and CDC about how to move forward.<\/p>\n
The FDA and CDC haven\u2019t said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should no longer be given. They called for a pause to give researchers time to examine the cases of blood clotting they\u2019ve seen to determine whether or not it should be stopped. That answer should come quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Agency officials said at a\u00a0joint briefing Tuesday the pause is expected to last “a matter of days,” but noted the duration would be\u00a0determined by how quickly they can\u00a0review the available information and contact clinicians to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment.<\/p>\n