‘We are aware of an extremely rare disorder involving people with blood clots in combination with low platelets in a small number of individuals who have received our Covid-19 vaccine,’ the pharmaceutical giant said in a statement, adding the company has been reviewing these cases with European health authorities.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), six vaccine recipients (women between 18 and 48 years of age) developed rare blood clots within two weeks after being immunized. One woman died and another one has been hospitalized.

After the J&J vaccine was granted emergency approval by regulators in late February, more than 6.8 million doses have already been administered in the US.

‘Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,’ Dr. Anne Schuchat, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in the joint statement.

They insisted that people vaccinated with J&J jabs should contact their healthcare provider at the slightest signs of abdominal discomfort, severe headache, leg discomfort or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination.

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