US Limits Use of J&J Covid19 Vaccines Due to Risk of Blood Clots, Citizens Urged to Opt for Pfizer or Moderna

• The US health regulator has limited the use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccines after it was determined there's a link between the jab and a rare syndrome
• Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) causes blood clotting and has been linked to the vaccine
• The J&J vaccine has become less popular in first world countries due to factors such as its efficiency concerns

UNITED STATES - Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccines are being limited in the US by the country’s health regulator. The announcement was made on Thursday 5 May after there was a link between the jab and a rare syndrome that causes blood to clot.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the J&J vaccine can be administered if authorised jabs are not accessible or if the patient does not want to use either Moderna or Pfizer vaccines that are available. The company has adjusted its vaccine fact sheet in the US and listed the risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).

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The pharmaceutical company’s vaccine has become less popular in first world countries due to factors such as its efficiency concerns. TTS cases have also previously been linked to those who received the J&J jab, according to TimesLIVE. This prompted the FDA to investigate the reported cases and limit the J&J vaccine usage.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that citizens in America opt for Pfizer and Moderna shots rather than J&J, Reuters reported.

Over 3k new Covid19 cases recorded in SA, Gauteng records the highest number of cases with kzn second

In a related story, Briefly News also reported Over 3 000 Covid-19 cases have been detected in South Africa, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). The country’s also recorded a 22% rate of positive Covid-19 cases on Sunday 1 May.

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The number of laboratory-confirmed cases also increased to over three million with most being detected in Gauteng. The institution noted 44 hospital admissions over the past 24 hours.

The South African Medical Research Council’s (SAMRC) Dr Fareed Abdullah said there are warning signs of a fifth Covid-19 wave, however, it is still too early to declare a new wave. Eyewitness News reports since February cases were declining however the new sub-variant of Omicron has created an increase in infections. Abdullah said that it is too early to notice an increase in the death rate. He added that it is too early to tell the severity of the fifth wave.

Source: Briefly News