BOSTON — In the end, the threat posed by the pandemic overshadowed the small possibility of developing a rare type of blood clot -- and that’s what led the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to recommend late Friday that Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine be returned to use under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization.
The 10-4 vote came after the vaccine’s use was paused for 11 days so drug regulators could research those clots, which come with a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia) and show up in vessels of the brain and abdomen.
When the vaccine returns to clinics, it will sport new warnings on the label about the clots.
>>>MORE: Coronavirus: Oregon woman dies after receiving J&J vaccine, suffering blood clot
The government’s vaccine surveillance system known as VAERS, helped turn up an additional nine cases of the clots, in addition to the six initially reported, bringing to 15 the total number known. So far, about eight million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered, making the possible side effect quite rare. A handful of other cases are also under investigation.
All fifteen cases of the blood clots were in women. And most of those cases, 13 of them, occurred in those from 18- to 49-years-old. The median age for the clots was 37 with median time to onset of symptoms of eight days.
Three of the 15 women affected died.
>>>RELATED: Coronavirus: CDC advisory panel meeting Friday to discuss Johnson & Johnson vaccine
Although no cases have been reported in males, the Committee was told that is not an indication men and boys aren’t at risk.
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