US to pause Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution amid clotting concerns

The US Food and Drug Administration and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention called for a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine.

Six women in the US between the ages of 18 and 48 developed a disorder involving blood clots about two weeks after they were immunised.

One of the women died and a second woman was admitted to hospital.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we’re recommending a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine due to reports of six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot following vaccine administration,” acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock said.

“We’re recommending this pause while we work together to fully understand these events and also so we can get information out to healthcare providers and vaccine recipients.

"Right now, I'd like to stress these events appear to be extremely rare. However, Covid vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government and we take all reports of adverse events following vaccination very seriously."

Dr Woodcock said the FDA expected the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause to last "for a matter of days".

Anne Schuchat, the CDC's principal deputy director, said the pause was intended to better equip US healthcare providers to diagnose and treat severe blood clots, which are different from the standard flulike symptoms that some people experience after receiving their Covid vaccine.

Dr Schuchat said people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than a month ago were at "very low" risk of developing blood clots.

But patients who had the shot within the past two weeks should contact their healthcare providers if they develop symptoms that include severe headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath.

“While these events are very rare, we’re recommending a pause in the use of the [Johnson & Johnson] Covid-19 vaccine in order to prepare the healthcare system to recognise and treat patients appropriately and to report severe events they may be seeing in people who’ve received the [Johnson & Johnson] vaccine,” Dr Schuchat said.

“The pause will also allow the CDC’s expert committee to review the situation.”

The CDC's advisory committee on immunisation practices will convene to review the initial data on the blood clots.

“This will allow careful deliberation about what we know so far about these events and consider next steps given the current context of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States and our broader immunisation efforts,” Dr Schuchat said.

Seven million people in the US have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. About nine million more doses have been shipped across the country.

Although the new guidelines will be enforced at all federal vaccination sites, the FDA and CDC expect state officials to enact the rules as well.

The CDC said most US vaccinations involved the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shots, which account for a combined 23 million doses.

The extent to which the pause will affect vaccine administration is unknown.

“It’s too early for us to know the impact on the supply longer term,” Dr Schuchat said.

But Jeff Zients, the White House response co-ordinator for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, said the pause would not have any major effect on distribution.

“This announcement will not have a significant impact on our vaccination programme,” he said.

“The [Johnson & Johnson] vaccine makes up less than five per cent of the more than 190 million recorded shots in arms in the United States to date.”

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

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How to apply for a drone permit

Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
Submit their request

What are the regulations?

Fly it within visual line of sight
Never over populated areas
Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
Should have a live feed of the drone flight
Drones must weigh 5 kg or less

Haemoglobin disorders explained

Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.

Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.

The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.

The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.

A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.

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