European Union: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine’s Benefits Outweigh Issues

European Union: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine’s Benefits Outweigh Issues

The European Union’s medical regulators Tuesday said a warning should be added to the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.

The regulators' stipulated the warning should indicate that there is a possible link to rare and unusual blood clots. 

They stopped short of recommending it be pulled from use, saying its benefits outweigh its risks.

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U.S. vs EU

This development is contrary to the actions taken by U.S. regulators ten days ago when the FDA and the CDC “paused” the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Dr. Anthony Fauci — senior health advisor to President Joseph Biden — is predicting that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s “pause” will be lifted this coming week.

“I think by that time we’re going to have a decision,” Dr. Fauci said on Sunday on the CNN program “State of the Union.”

“I don’t want to get ahead of the CDC, and the FDA, and the advisory committee,” he added. He expected experts to recommend “some sort of either warning or restriction” on the use of the vaccine.

“The reported combination of blood clots and low blood platelets is very rare, and the overall benefits of Covid-19 Vaccine Janssen in preventing Covid-19 outweigh the risks of side effects,” the European Medicines Agency said in a statement, referring to the division of Johnson & Johnson that develops vaccines, Janssen. The rare clots were “very similar,” the agency added, to those associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, for which the agency made a similar recommendation.

AstraZeneca has been approved in Europe, but not in the United States. 

Last week, Johnson & Johnson delayed its rollout in the bloc’s 27 member states, after regulators in the United States called for the pause.