The CDC is considering whether to discontinue Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine

Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine in the U.S. shortly after three women died as a result of a rare blood clot, officials said on Friday, a group of experts examined whether to recommend restarting the company’s inoculation use.

According to information provided by officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 15 women have been diagnosed with a rare combination of blood clots and low platelet counts — nine more than previously known. Three of them have died, the CDC said, seven remain in hospital and five have been discharged. More than 7m people have been vaccinated in total.

The information was being provided to the Immunization Practice Advisory Committee, which will have to recommend a restart of the J&J vaccine on Friday, after recommending pausing distribution 10 days ago.

Doctors say it is very rare to combine a low number of blood clots and platelets. Michael Streiff, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, told the committee, “I’ve never seen it from the experience I treat these patients.”

The committee met last week, however can’t agree whether a single-shot vaccine should be recommended for universal use in adults. Following a joint statement from the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, states and health care providers called on states and health care providers after six recipients suffered from serious blood clotting problems.

Scientific advisors may recommend that the vaccine be permanently discontinued in order to restart it for all or to restart it for certain sectors of the population. Their finding will go to the CDC director to find out whether the FDA should restart the J&J vaccines before the FDA makes a final decision.

Experts have discussed whether there is a specific link between the jab and the rare state of health where blood clots occur along with low platelet counts. One problem with this condition is that the anticoagulants commonly used to treat clots can make the problem worse.

Some say that even if there is a link, the benefits to the owner outweigh the risks, as U.S. trials have shown it has an approximate rate of effectiveness. 66 percent For moderate or severe Covid-19 prevention.

Earlier this week the European Medicines Agency found there was a “possible link” between jab and blood clots, but they concluded that the benefits outweigh the risks. Germany announced it would allow everyone to be vaccinated on Friday morning, but Sweden said it would keep the break in place.

Since the start of the hiatus, the rate of U.S. inoculations has dropped from an average of 3.4 m a day to 2.9 m a day. The country has given 219m doses according to the CDC, with more than half of all adults receiving at least one dose.

A similar problem with rare blood clots has disrupted the spread of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, which, as J & J’s owner, uses an adenovirus, such as the common cold, to give the vaccine protein to the body. Vaccines used by BioNTech / Pfizer and Moderna messenger RNA technology.

The vaccine from J&J, the first owner of a single shot allowed for use in the U.S., has had several other drawbacks. Production of the vaccine at a Baltimore plant was suspended by the FDA earlier this week while the agency is investigating the agency, which is run by Emergent BioSolutions. suffering from manufacturing problems.

House of Representatives oversight and reform committee on Monday was launched a separate investigation into whether Emergent received contracts to manufacture vaccines “despite a long and documented history of properly trained staff and quality control issues.”