Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Pause: What's Up?
The J&J vaccine is on “Pause.” This does not mean it’s off the market. Only that we are not using it while people take a closer look —
• The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are investigating 6 cases of blood clots in women ages 18-48.
• The clots occurred 6-13 days after vaccination with the J & J vaccine.
• It is a rare event with almost 7 million doses of J & J vaccine given around the world.
We have not seen clots with the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines
• We do not know that the vaccine is the cause of this - CDC and FDA are holding and emergency meeting on Wednesday April 14 to discuss further.
• We have not seen reports of blood clots with either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.
CDC/ FDA recommendation for patients
• People who received the J&J vaccine and experience severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within 3 weeks after receiving the shot should contact their health care provider.
Background information for Health Professionals
• This type of blood clot is rare as a cerebral event; a type of stroke- and rare among people receiving vaccine (1:1mil).
• The treatment of this is different than usual cerebral thrombosis - hence, the alert.
• It is called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) and was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). Similar cases were seen in the UK with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
• Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered.
• Usually, the anticoagulant drug heparin is used to treat blood clots.
• In this setting, use of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.
