U.S. health authorities have recommended that vaccination sites suspend the use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine to investigate rare cases of blood clots. The move comes after European health regulators said they were investigating blood clots among four people who got J & J’s chance, while also investigating clotting in people who received a Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca PLC and the University of Oxford.
Why is the J&J vaccine being discontinued?
U.S. health authorities recommended the break while investigating six reported cases of blood clots, including one death. It was reported that six women, aged between 18 and 48, experienced the blood clots as well as low levels of platelets, which helps to clot.
The cases have so far been extremely rare – so far more than 6.8 million doses of the shot have been given in the US – but the US Food and Drug Administration has said it makes the recommendation out of a plethora of caution. Regulators and researchers do not yet know if the vaccines cause the side effects or something else.
What are the symptoms of blood clots that I should look out for?
If you have been receiving the J&J vaccine for the past three weeks, you should look for symptoms such as severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath. If you have any of these symptoms, which are different from the symptoms that people have reported after vaccination, you should contact your doctor or other healthcare provider.
For each of the six coagulation cases, symptoms occurred six to 13 days after vaccination, whereas the common symptoms usually occur within one day of receiving the vaccine.