CDC & FDA Pause Administration of the Johnson and Johnson Coronavirus Vaccine

The CDC and FDA have paused the administering of the Johnson and Johnson Coronavirus vaccine. Both groups are recommending that the United States pause the use of Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine over six reported cases of a ‘rare and severe’ type of blood clot. According to a joint statement today from the Principal Deputy Director of the CDC Dr. Anne Schuchat and the Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Dr. Peter Marks, all 6 cases occurred in women between the ages 18 and 48. Each happened 6 to 13 days after they received the dose.

The FDA said on Twitter “right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare.” The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet tomorrow to review the cases and assess their significance. The company previously told the White House it would deliver 100 million doses by the end of May and recently had a production error at a plant in Baltimore. There have been over 6.8 million doses of the vaccine administered in the U.S.