US federal health agencies have recommended pausing the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine after six recipients developed a rare disorder involving blood clots, as reported by the New York Times.
All six recipients were women between the ages of 18 and 48. One woman died and a second woman in the state of Nebraska has been hospitalised in critical condition.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed it will hold an advisory meeting on Wednesday to review the cases.
The CDC and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a joint statement the adverse events appear to be extremely rare right now.
A tweet from the official FDA Twitter account added the decision was taken "out of an abundance of caution".
Today FDA and @CDCgov issued a statement regarding the Johnson & Johnson #COVID19 vaccine. We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.
Advertisement— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) April 13, 2021
As of April 12th, more than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the US.
The J&J shot is one of four vaccines currently cleared by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for use in the European Union.
The jab, developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which is owned by J&J, is the only single-dose vaccine approved by the EMA.
On April 1st, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly signed the approval for the J&J vaccine to be rolled out in Ireland following the EMA's decision, the first deliveries of which were expected this month.
According to figures published by the Department of Health last week, 40,800 doses of the J&J vaccine were due to be delivered to Ireland in April, followed by 132,000 in May and 432,000 in June.
