US Agencies OK Resumption of J&J COVID Vaccine Use Despite Clot Risk

U.S. health officials on Friday ended an 11-day pause on COVID-19 vaccinations using Johnson & Johnson's one-dose shot, after scientific advisers decided its benefits outweighed the risk of rare blood clots.

The government found 15 vaccine recipients who had developed the clots, out of nearly 8 million people given the J&J shot. All were women, most under age 50. Three died; seven are still in hospitals. In the end, however, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided that J&J's vaccine was a key to fighting the pandemic, and that the clot risk could be addressed with warnings to help younger women decide which shot to choose. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' meeting on Friday followed an emergency meeting last week, the day after the announcement of the pause. At that time, members of the panel said they had too little time to make a recommendation.