Christian Carlos. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's panel -CDCdecided Wednesday to postpone a decision on whether to give the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 - the new coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19 - in the face of an increase in cases of clotting, which, they said, can lead to death.
In response, the Centers' Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices convened a meeting following the Food and Drug Administration's announcement, recommending that U.S. governments temporarily abandon use of the Johnson & Johnson-produced COVID-19 vaccine as a "major precautionary measure," the U.S. agency said.
The decision the CDC must make is whether to continue immunizing people with Johnson & Johnson vaccines or to pause their use, or even, in the worst-case scenario, to stop any use of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.
The pause, according to the committee, could take at least a month. This would give the CDC time to investigate the cause of the side effects caused by the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, specifically, what causes the blood to clot. Some panel members suggest other time windows to elucidate likely reactions to the vaccine that has experienced problems in countries in Europe and Latin America.
However, other options are still being considered, such as limiting the application of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine to specific age groups that are less vulnerable to cases of blood clotting and, thus, minimizing its risks. Cases have been reported where most women develop central venous sinus thrombosis -- also known as CVST -- just two weeks after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was initially intended to prevent the effects of COVID-19, according to U.S. health experts on Tuesday.
As Peninsula 360 Press reported yesterday, San Mateo County has put San Mateo County on hiatus. doses of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine. So far, of the total number of vaccines administered in San Mateo County, just over 3.9 percent of the doses are from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
