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world news Diaranson 14 aPriL 2021

J&J delays vaccine rollout in Europe amid clot fears in US

(AP) — Johnson & John- AstraZeneca vaccine for sev-
son said Tuesday it is de- eral months due to a surge of
laying the rollout of its cases in the subcontinent.
coronavirus vaccine in European regulators on
Europe amid a U.S. probe March 11 endorsed the John-
into reports of rare blood son & Johnson vaccine as the
clots in some recipients, fourth authorized for use in
moves that experts worry the EU, but the first supplies
could further shake vac- are only now arriving.
cine confidence and com- Italy expected to receive its
plicate COVID-19 immu- first Johnson & Johnson de-
nization efforts. liveries this week. The Lazio
region surrounding Rome
The announcement came af- planned to give the prison
ter regulators in the United population the single jab,
States said they were recom- while the northern Veneto
mending a “pause” in the sin- region planned to use it for
gle-dose shot to investigate home-bound adults over 80.
reports of rare, but potential- Francesco Rocca, president
ly dangerous blood clots. of the International Federa-
“We have made the deci- tion of the Red Cross, told
sion to proactively delay the foreign reporters in Italy that
rollout of our vaccine in Eu- the news the vaccine was be-
rope,” Johnson & Johnson ing “paused” meant the regu-
said. latory system was function-
The delay is a further blow ing as it should.
to vaccination drives in the “There will be repercussions,
European Union, which as we are waiting for millions
have been plagued by supply of doses. But this means the
shortages, logistical problems controls are working,” Rocca
and concerns over unusual said. “If we need to be pru-
blood clots in a small num- dent, we need to be prudent.”
ber of people who received Officials in Germany, which
the AstraZeneca vaccine. was due to receive 232,800
The blood clot reports doses of the vaccine this week
prompted several countries and 10.1 million doses by the
in the 27-nation bloc to limit end of June, said earlier Tues-
the AstraZeneca vaccine to day that there were no imme-
older age groups, which are diate plans to change.
more at risk from serious ill- “In principle, we naturally
ness when infected with CO- always take such warnings in
VID-19. an international context seri-
The Johnson & Johnson and between the ages of 18 and statement. “Given the im- South Africa planned to ously and investigate them,”
AstraZeneca vaccines are 48, including one who died. portance of these vaccines for test the J&J shot in 500,000 Health Ministry spokesman,
made with the same tech- The FDA commissioner said the timely control of the pan- health workers as part of the Hanno Kautz, told reporters
nology. Many leading COV- she expected the pause to last demic, investigation of this research, and as of Mon- in Berlin.
ID-19 vaccines train the body a matter of days. phenomenon is now an ex- day night, it had vaccinated Spain is expecting to receive
to recognize the spike protein The Amsterdam-based EMA tremely urgent international 289,787. 300,000 doses of J&J on
that coats the outer surface of said following the U.S. an- priority.” Last month, the African Wednesday, the first delivery
the coronavirus. But the J&J nouncement Tuesday it is The EU ordered 200 million Union announced it had of the jab produced by John-
and AstraZeneca vaccines “currently not clear” whether doses of the Johnson & John- signed a deal to buy up to 400 son & Johnson. Asked about
use a cold virus, called an ad- the J&J shot was responsible son in 2021. Britain ordered million doses of the J&J vac- the temporary halt on John-
enovirus, to carry the spike for the rare clotting disorders. 30 million doses of the J& J cine. son & Johnson shots in the
gene into the body. Johnson Last week, the EMA said it vaccine, though U.K. regula- Johnson & Johnson also has United States, Spanish Prime
& Johnson uses a human ad- found a “possible link” be- tors have not yet approved its a preliminary agreement to Minister Pedro Sánchez said
enovirus to create its vaccine, tween the AstraZeneca shot use. supply up to 500 million the benefits of taking the vac-
while AstraZeneca uses a and rare blood clots but that France had expected to re- doses to the U.N.-backed cine remain greater than the
chimpanzee version. it still thought the benefits of ceive 200,000 doses of the COVAX initiative, an effort risks but that he would need
The European Medicines vaccination far outweighed vaccine this week and was to provide COVID-19 vac- to learn more.
Agency, the EU’s drug regu- the risks of COVID-19. It planning to start administer- cines to the world’s poor. “We have to all be aware that
lator, said last Friday that it noted the risk of such clots ing them next week to people The World Health Organi- all the vaccines being admin-
was reviewing cases reported is less than the blood clot aged 55 and over. In total, the zation last month gave the istered to the Spanish popu-
in the United States of rare risk that healthy women face country had planned to re- green light to the J&J vaccine, lation, and the European,
blood clots in people who got from birth control pills. ceive about 8 million doses of saying its one-dose formula as well as American popula-
the J&J vaccine. Dr. Adam Finn, a professor the J&J vaccine by the end of “should facilitate vaccination tions, are safe,” Sánchez said.
In a joint statement Tuesday, of pediatrics at Britain’s Uni- June. logistics in all countries.”
the Centers for Disease Con- versity of Bristol, said it was In February, South Africa Any concerns about the J&J
trol and Prevention and the possible the way the J&J and began vaccinating its health vaccine could be another
Food and Drug Administra- AstraZeneca vaccines were workers with the J&J vac- unwelcome complication
tion said they were investi- made may have contributed cine in a research trial after for COVAX and for the bil-
gating six cases of unusual to the unusual clotting disor- abandoning plans to use the lions of people in developing
clots that occurred six to 13 ders in a very small propor- AstraZeneca shot when a countries depending on the
days after vaccination. The tion of people. preliminary study suggest- program to get immunized.
clots occurred in veins that “This may help give us a ed the AstraZeneca vaccine COVAX recently was hit by
drain blood from the brain clue towards understanding was only minimally effective supply issues after its big-
and occurred together with the mechanism or a way to against the variant of CO- gest supplier, the Serum In-
low blood platelets. prevent this problem from VID-19 that first arose in the stitute of India, announced
All six cases were in women occurring,” Finn said in a country. it would delay exports of the