FDA, CDC Call for Immediate Pause of Johnson & Johnson Coronavirus Vaccine

by Simon Kent

U.S. federal health agencies will issue a joint call Tuesday for Washington to begin an “immediate pause” in the rollout of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose coronavirus vaccine.

The move comes as six Americans have reportedly developed a rare disorder involving blood clots, and one later died, after receiving the shot.

The New York Times reports all six recipients were women between the ages of 18 and 48, and now federal agencies want a pause in the distribution of the vaccine out of “an abundance of caution.”

“We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, said in a joint statement. “Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare.”