EU Medicines Agency: There is a possible connection between the Janssen vaccine and rare blood clots

According to the EU’s medicines agency (EMA), there is a possible but rare link between the Janssen vaccine and unusual blood clots with low platelet counts.

According to EMA, the disease picture should be considered a possible but very rare side effect of the Janssen vaccine. However, they state that the benefit of the vaccine still outweighs the risk.

The manufacturer Johnson & Johnson stopped the roll-out of vaccines in Europe last week after a pause was recommended due to the rare disease picture in some vaccinated people.

EMA experts have reviewed all available evidence from the United States.

So far, six cases of rare blood clots have been reported among the nearly seven million people who have received the Janssen vaccine in the United States.

Use paused in the United States

In the US, a new assessment of the Janssen vaccine is expected on Friday. The use of the vaccine was temporarily stopped in the United States on April 14.

The reason was that some of the vaccinated people had been affected by blood clots in combination with a low number of platelets.

The rare condition is the same as the one found in some of the people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

A large number of countries have restricted the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In Norway, its use is still temporarily stopped, while the Danes have dropped the vaccine completely.

The EMA has decided that the rare blood clots must be considered a possible side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Nevertheless, the EMA believes that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks it entails and that it can, therefore, still be used.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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