Dr Lipman said the pieces were starting to fall into place while the team studied her blood samples, and they realized she seemed to have the same problem that they know occurred in Britain and Europe after patients received the AstraZeneca vaccine. mostly in young women. They switched from heparin to another blood thinner, starting with the guidance of doctors in Britain who treated AstraZeneca recipients with a similar disorder.
Hoping for more information on the condition and any possible connection to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Dr. Lipman called an emergency number at the Food and Drug Administration. It was a weekend and he said the person who answered told him that no one was available to help and that the line should be kept open for emergencies.
“I thought it was an emergency,” he said. Lipman said. “She was sitting next to me.”
He calls back to ask how to reach Janssen, who makes the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The information was not available, and he said the person who responded also told him that the FDA could not provide advice on patient care.
An FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Caccomo said in an email: “We will investigate further to ensure that doctors who ask the FDA for help receive the help they seek.”
Dr Lipman said the pharmacist in his hospital submitted a report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in early April, but that the agency had not contacted him until this week to inquire about the matter. The agency declined to comment on whether it communicated with Dr. Lipman, a spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said in an email.
At a meeting of a CDC advisory panel on Wednesday, Johnson & Johnson and dr. Tom Shimabukuro, a security expert from the agency, both presented information about the young woman in Nevada. After the meeting, Nevada officials issued a statement saying the meeting was the first time they had heard of a case in their state – they had previously told the public that no cases had been reported – and they said ‘ federal partners’ asked why the state was informed.
At the hospital in Nevada, an interventionist radiologist inserted a tube through the blood vessels and inserted it into the young woman’s brain, using a device to suck out the blood clots. Later, blood clots formed and he performed the procedure again.