THE HAGUE – The European Union’s drug regulator today said it has launched a review of possible links between the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine and blood clots after reports of four cases, one of them fatal.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said its safety committee “has started a review of a safety signal to assess reports of thromboembolic events” among people who received the shot.
“Four serious cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets have been reported post-vaccination with Covid-19 vaccine Janssen,” said EMA, referring to United States pharma giant J&J’s European subsidiary.
“One case occurred in a clinical trial, and three cases occurred during the vaccine roll-out in the US. One of them was fatal.”
The watchdog has approved the J&J vaccine for use, but its roll-out across the 27-nation EU is not due to start until later this month.
The probe comes days after the Amsterdam-based watchdog said it is listing the same type of blood clots as a very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Both jabs use similar adenovirus vector technology. – AFP, April 9, 2021