Johnson & Johnson reached out to Covid-19 competitors against vaccines privately to ask them to study the risks of blood clots and speak with one voice about safety, but Pfizer Inc. and Modern Inc. refused.
Since people familiar with the matter, J&J AstraZeneca PLC as well as Pfizer and Moderna have asked to prevent rare cases of blood clots. Some people said that J&J, via email and phone calls, wanted to build an informal alliance to communicate the benefits and risks of the shots and address the problems caused by the blood clots among the public.
Six women who received the J&J vaccine had blood clots, according to federal health officials, and one died from more than seven million doses across the U.S. Officials said the specific adverse event was not reported by people taking the Pfizer and Modern shots have not received.
The people of Pfizer and Moderna turned down the offer, saying their vaccinations look safe. The two also objected because they did not see the need to repeat the efforts of regulators and companies that are already looking for blood clots and investigating their cause, the people said. A concern of an enterprise: the safety of the Pfizer and Moderna shots could be compromised by association, some people said.
Only AstraZeneca, which has been plagued by similar blood clotting problems for weeks, agrees, the people said.