The @CDCgov and @US_FDA held a joint conference call with the press today outlining their decision to order a pause on Johnson & Johnson shots.

WHAT TO KNOW:

Nearly 7 million people have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Of those, six people — all women between the age of 18 and 48 — developed a very rare but severe type of blood clot known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) within two weeks of getting their shot.

Health authorities think there may be a link to the vaccine's technology, as similar rare clotting events occurred in Europe in a small number of people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Both J&J and AZ rely on adenoviruses to stimulate immune response. https://www.statnews.com/2021/04/13/researchers-search-for-answers-in-puzzle-of-blood-clots-and-covid-vaccines-and-see-some-clues/

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will convene an emergency meeting tomorrow to review the situation.

The FDA said today that it expects the pause to last “a matter of days.”

The Johnson & Johnson vaccines represent just a sliver of vaccines given in the U.S. to date. See the below chart from @CDCgov:

If six cases out of nearly 7 million doses administered seems very low that’s because it is. It is not statistically significant. So why the pause?

FDA says the pause will give them time to study the events and get information out to health care providers about the syndrome.

The standard treatment for blood clots can "actually cause tremendous harm or the outcome can be fatal” with this rare type of clotting, said Peter Marks, director of @FDACBER.

Providers must be educated in identifying, treating and reporting suspected cases.

The pause is only recommended, it’s not mandated, Marks says.

Providers may make a risk-benefit calculation and decide that a patient’s situation warrants giving them the shot.

Speaking of risk-benefit calculations, many states — including New York — are currently experiencing an increase in Covid-19 cases.

The U.S. is averaging 67,000+ cases of the virus a day and 677 deaths a day. Over 500,000 have died to date.

If you got the shot & are wondering if you should be worried, CDC says these are the rare clotting symptoms to watch for within three weeks of your shot:

+ severe headache
+ abdominal pain
+ leg pain
+ shortness of breath

If you are feeling these, CDC says to call your doc.