FDA halts J&J vaccination in US over rare blood clotting cases

The Food & Drug Administration temporarily told US states to halt vaccination against Covid-19 with the Johnson & Johnson shot over rare blood clotting cases.

The FDA made the call after there were 6 known rare blood clotting cases in people who had received the shot.

All six cases occurred in women between the ages of 18 and 48, with symptoms developing six to 13 days after they received the shot.

The FDA said the recommendation is “out of an abundance of caution.”

“Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare,” the FDA said in a joint statement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.”

J&J said in a statement that "no clear causal relationship" has been identified between the blood clots and the vaccine.

The vaccine was given approval in February and no concerns were identified at the time.

As a result, shares of J&J were down more than 3% in premarket trading Tuesday.