Europe’s medicines regulator has found a “possible link” between the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson and rare blood clots in adults who received the shot in the US.
The European Medicines Agency said on Tuesday its safety committee concluded that a warning about unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be added to the vaccine’s labels as a “very rare side effect”.
It said all reported blood clot cases occurred in adults aged under 60 – mostly women – within three weeks of vaccination.
All available evidence, including eight reports of cases in the US, were part of its assessment, it said.
The EMA said most blood clots had occurred in the brain and abdomen, but reiterated that the vaccine’s overall benefits outweigh the risks.
Concerns over J&J’s vaccine follow similar reports of blood clots in a minute number of people who received the AstraZeneca shot.
The ruling allows European governments to make their own decisions on whether to restrict use of the vaccine to a certain age or patient groups, as countries such as Germany and France have chosen to do with AstraZeneca.
Last week, J&J halted its European distribution of the vaccine after US officials recommended a pause when six blood clot cases were identified among about seven million people immunised with the shot.
The company advised European governments to store their doses until the EU drug regulator issued advice on their use.
Widespread use of the vaccine has not started yet on the continent, but EU officials had hoped the one-shot vaccine could be used to boost inoculation rates. The vaccine, which uses similar technology to AstraZeneca’s vaccine, does not need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures, unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and can therefore be delivered to remote communities.
The EU ordered 200 million doses of J&J’s Covid-19 vaccine for 2021.
The US medicines regulator is due to make its own ruling on Friday. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the watchdog may still allow the use of the shot with some form of restriction or warning.
J&J said earlier on Tuesday it was “very confident” in its vaccine and hopeful for a quick resolution from regulators over its status.
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
MATCH INFO
Maratha Arabians 107-8 (10 ovs)
Lyth 21, Lynn 20, McClenaghan 20 no
Qalandars 60-4 (10 ovs)
Malan 32 no, McClenaghan 2-9
Maratha Arabians win by 47 runs
