CDC, FDA Recommend Halting Johnson & Johnson’s One-Shot COVID Vaccine

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Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) fell 1.34 percent on Tuesday after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended pausing the company’s coronavirus vaccine following reports of blood clots in recipients.

Over 6.8 million doses of the jab have been administered in the US till Monday, April 12. Cases of rare and severe type of blood clot were reported in six individuals by the FDA.

All the cases reported were in women aged between 18 and 48 years.

The symptoms appeared between six to 13 days after the vaccination. The FDA said the blood clot needs unique treatment.

The FDA and CDC are reviewing the cases and have recommended pausing the use of the vaccine until the process is complete.

People who got the J&J vaccine have been asked to contact their healthcare provider in case of abdominal pain, leg pain, headache, shortness of breath within three weeks of vaccination.

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The first single-shot COVID vaccine

Johnson & Johnson is the first company to introduce a single-shot coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine is the third one to get the FDA’s approval for emergency use.

In clinical trials, the jab was found to be 66.3 percent effective. The two-shot COVID vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech SE, and Moderna Inc. (NYSE:MRNA) are other pharmaceuticals to get emergency use authorization in the U.S..

The European Union has also authorized the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in March but is yet to administered.

Johnson & Johnson’s share price grew around 7 percent in 2020 and 3 percent year to date.

New York, Dallas city halt JNJ vaccine program

New York Governor’s office said on Wednesday that it will pause the Johnson & Johnson vaccine statewide, effective immediately. All people with appointments for the Johnson & Johnson vaccines today at mass vaccination sites in New York will receive Pfizer’s vaccine.

The city of Dallas, which was planning to begin in-home vaccination program for homebound or elderly people with the J&J dose, will also reportedly halt the vaccination program.

JNJ delays rollout in Europe

Following the recommendation by the FDA and the CDC, Johnson & Johnson quickly put out a news release saying that it is aware of the blood clotting issue and will proactively delay the vaccine rollout in the Europe.

The European Medical Authority’s safety committee is also reviewing the formation of blood clots. However, the agency noted that it is not clear that there is a causal association between the vaccine and blood clot formation.

A few days ago, the EMA found a possible link between AstraZeneca vaccine and the rare cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets.