From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   Read the last sentence of this article. Every reason to be careful -   
   especially if you're on any blood-thinning medications. And note the status of   
   AstraZeneca in the U.S.   
   ____________________________________________   
   The Associated Press · Posted: Apr 13, 2021   
      
   U.S. recommends 'pause' for Johnson & Johnson vaccine over clot reports   
      
   More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the   
   U.S   
      
   U.S. health officials are recommending a "pause" in administration of the   
   single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of   
   potentially dangerous blood clots.   
      
   More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the   
   U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects. But in a joint statement   
   Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug   
   Administration said    
   they were investigating unusual clots in six women that occurred six to 13   
   days after vaccination.   
      
   The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred   
   together with low platelets. All six cases were in women between the ages of   
   18 and 48.   
      
   The reports appear similar to a rare, unusual type of clotting disorder that   
   European authorities say is possibly linked to another COVID-19 vaccine not   
   yet cleared in the U.S., from AstraZeneca.   
      
   U.S. federal distribution channels, including mass vaccination sites, will   
   pause the use of the J&J shot, and states and other providers are expected to   
   follow. The other two authorized vaccines, from Moderna and Pfizer, make up   
   the vast share of COVID-   
   19 shots administered in the U.S. and are not affected by the pause.   
      
   The single-dose vaccine has been approved in Canada, but the country has not   
   yet received any doses.   
      
   'Abundance of caution'   
      
   The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to   
   discuss the cases and the FDA has also launched an investigation into the   
   cause of the clots and low platelet counts.   
      
   "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, principal   
   deputy director of the CDC, and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center   
   for Biologics Evaluation    
   and Research, said in a joint statement.   
      
   They are recommending that people who were given the J&J vaccine who are   
   experiencing severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath   
   within three weeks after receiving the shot contact their health-care provider.   
      
   U.S. health authorities cautioned doctors against using a typical clot   
   treatment, the blood-thinner heparin. "In this setting, administration of   
   heparin may be dangerous and alternative treatments need to be given," the FDA   
   and CDC said.   
      
   European authorities investigating the AstraZeneca cases have concluded clots   
   appear to be similar to a very rare abnormal immune response that sometimes   
   strikes people treated with heparin, leading to a temporary clotting disorder.   
      
   Officials say they also want to educate vaccine providers and health   
   professionals about the "unique treatment" required for this type of clot.   
      
   Johnson & Johnson said it was aware of the reports of "thromboembolic events,"   
   or blood clots, but that no link to its vaccine had been established.   
      
   "We are aware that thromboembolic events including those with thrombocytopenia   
   have been reported with COVID-19 vaccines," said Johnson & Johnson in a   
   statement. "At present, no clear causal relationship has been established   
   between these rare events and    
   the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine."   
      
   Single-dose vaccine   
      
   The J&J vaccine received emergency use authorization from the FDA in late   
   February with great fanfare, with hopes that its single-dose and relatively   
   simple storage requirements would speed vaccinations across the country. Yet   
   the shot only makes up a    
   small fraction of the doses administered in the U.S. as J&J has been plagued   
   by production delays and manufacturing errors at the Baltimore plant of a   
   contractor.   
      
   Last week, the drugmaker took over the facility to scale up production in   
   hopes of meeting its commitment to the U.S. government of providing about 100   
   million doses by the end of May.   
      
   Only about nine million of the company's doses have been delivered to states   
   and are awaiting administration, according to CDC data.   
      
   Until now, concern about the unusual blood clots has centred on the vaccine   
   from AstraZeneca, which has not yet received authorization in the U.S. Last   
   week, European regulators said they found a possible link between the shots   
   and a very rare type of    
   blood clot that occurs together with low blood platelets, one that seems to   
   occur more in younger people.   
      
   The European Medicines Agency stressed that the benefits of receiving the   
   vaccine outweigh the risks for most people. But several countries, including   
   Canada, have revised their recommendation around who should receive the   
   vaccine.   
      
   The J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines are made with the same technology.   
   [viral vector]   
   Leading COVID-19 vaccines train the body to recognize the spike protein that   
   coats the outer surface of the coronavirus. But the J&J and AstraZeneca   
   vaccines use a cold virus, called an adenovirus, to carry the spike gene into   
   the body.   
      
   J&J uses a human adenovirus to create its vaccine while AstraZeneca uses a   
   chimpanzee version.   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)