WASHINGTON — U.S. government-run vaccine sites are expected to stop offering the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine after multiple people developed blood clots, according to the New York Times.
The Food and Drug Administration made the announcement Tuesday after six people in the U.S. developed blood clots within two weeks of getting the vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and FDA are working to determine if there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots.
“Right now, these adverse event appear to be extremely rare,” the FDA said in a post on Twitter.
Until these agencies can determine the risk, vaccine providers are under recommendation to stop using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine but are not required to do so. Government-run sites are expected to comply with this directive.
The New York Times reports that one woman died from a possibly vaccine-related clot. Another is in critical condition. All six of the patients were women between ages 18 and 48.
The decision to halt use of the vaccine comes after the U.S. has already used the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on more than 6.8 million people, according to the FDA.