Johnson & Johnson suspends delivery of COVID vaccine to EU over rare blood clots

The EU, South Africa and the United States will temporarily stop the rollout of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine after reports of rare blood clotting were notified in America.

Johnson & Johnson began its rollout in the EU, including Malta, this week.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that six cases of rare blood clotting were detected in more than 6.8 million doses of the vaccine administered so far in the US. 

It follows similar cases of rare blood clots that developed in the wake of people being administered the AstraZeneca vaccine, which prompted curbs to its use in some European countries.

All six cases linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were in women aged between 18 and 48, with symptoms appearing six to 13 days after vaccination.

On Friday, Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci confirmed that two people had experienced blood clots after taking the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines in Malta; however, they were unrelated to the vaccination. 

Johnson & Johnson is an American company. However, the vaccine was developed mainly by its pharmaceutical branch in Belgium and is also known as Janssen. 

Unlike some of the other vaccines, it is given as a single shot. It can be stored at average refrigerator temperatures, making it easier to distribute in hotter climates or more remote areas. 

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the beginning of March, making it the fourth vaccine available for use in the EU.

The temporary suspension of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the EU is unlikely to disrupt Malta's plan to have all the population vaccinated by August.

The vaccination timelines announced last week were based on the three currently available vaccines - Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.