(CMR) Advisers to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended the resumption of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was paused after several persons developed blood clots after taking the vaccine.
The advisory panel voted 10-4 to reaffirm the vaccine's use in adults, while one member abstained.
The vaccine was paused by the CDC and US Food and Drug Administration after eight cases of rare blood clots associated with low blood platelets and the death of one person. All eight US cases were in people under 60, with the majority of them women, who developed clots within three weeks of vaccination.
Almost eight million people in the US have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is given as a single jab.
A member of the US panel that recommended resuming the use of the Johnson & Johnson jab said the benefits “clearly outweigh the risk from a population and individual perspective,” MSN News reported.
“It's a new risk. It's admittedly an extremely small risk and smaller than many other risks that we choose to take every day,” Dr. Beth Bell from the University of Washington said.
Johnson & Johnson delayed its rollout in Europe out of caution while US authorities investigated the clots. The vaccine has not yet been approved for use in the UK, but 30 million doses have been ordered.
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