SEATTLE, Wash. — A U.S. health panel has decided in favor of resuming use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, despite a very rare risk of blood clots.
Out of nearly 8 million people vaccinated, health officials uncovered 15 cases of a highly unusual kind of blood clot.
Three of the cases were fatal.
UW School of Medicine professor of microbiology Dr. Deborah Fuller says it’s still a safe vaccine and she’s excited to see it get back out there, as all vaccines are needed to fight the pandemic.
Dr. Seth Cohen with the UW Medical Center says the J&J offers advantages over other vaccines, saying it is the only single-dose vaccine approved and it can be stable in a normal refrigerator.
All of the adverse effects occurred in women, most under age 50, and the vaccine will now carry a warning label.