Johnson & Johnson Delays Vaccine Roll-Out To Europe

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Johnson & Johnson released a public statement Tuesday morning in response to the Food & Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control recommending a nationwide pause in use of their coronavirus vaccine, because some people are developing rare but potentially fatal blood clot disorders.

Because the CDC is now investigating the blood clots, Johnson & Johnson announced Tuesday it has decided to delay the roll-out of their vaccine to Europe.

"We have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities," said Johnson & Johnson in the statement. "We have made the decision to proactively delay the roll-out of our vaccine in Europe."

This news will likely further delay vaccination efforts in Europe, as several countries in Europe have already limited use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, because blood clot disorders have been reported in that vaccine as well. Seven people in the U.K. died from rare blood clots after getting AstraZeneca, however U.K. health regulators said they can't be sure their deaths were caused by the vaccine, reported the AP.

Regardless, countries such as Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands are now only giving the AstraZeneca shot to older people.

France and Italy were supposed to start getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, with France depending on receiving 8 million J&J doses by the end of June, ABC News reported.

The FDA and CDC recommended pausing to investigate Johnson & Johnson after six women in America, between the ages of 18 and 48, developed rare blood clot issues within two weeks of getting the J&J shot, according to the New York Times. One woman died; a second woman remains hospitalized in critical condition.

So far, 6.8 million Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been given out in the U.S. J&J's vaccine was actually developed by its subsidiary Janssen Biotech, Inc.

"The safety and well-being of the people who use our products is our number one priority," said Johnson & Johnson, which has its global headquarters in New Brunswick. "We are aware of an extremely rare disorder involving people with blood clots in combination with low platelets in a small number of individuals who have received our COVID-19 vaccine. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases out of more than 6.8 million doses administered. Out of an abundance of caution, the CDC and FDA have recommended a pause in the use of our vaccine."

"Health authorities advise that people who have received our COVID-19 vaccine and develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider," continued Johnson & Johnson.

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