After Oxford-Astrazeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine has hit roadblocks over stories of blood clotting. The US on Tuesday advisable a pause in administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after stories of doubtless harmful blood clots. In a joint assertion Tuesday, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention and the Meals and Drug Administration stated it was investigating clots in six ladies within the days after vaccination, together with diminished platelet counts.
Greater than 6.eight million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered within the US.
The Johnson & Johnson firm is now delaying the rollout of its coronavirus vaccine in Europe after US regulators introduced a pause on the vaccine administration. “Now we have been reviewing these instances with European well being authorities,” Johnson & Johnson stated. “Now we have made the choice to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe.” Australia too has refused so as to add J&J vaccine to its armory.
A number of nations within the 27-nation bloc have restricted the AstraZeneca vaccine to older age teams, that are extra in danger from critical sickness when contaminated with COVID-19 after stories of blood clots. J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines are made with the identical expertise.
Many main COVID-19 vaccines prepare the physique to acknowledge the spike protein that coats the outer floor of the coronavirus. However the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines use a chilly virus, known as an adenovirus, to hold the spike gene into the physique. Johnson & Johnson makes use of a human adenovirus to create its vaccine, whereas AstraZeneca makes use of a chimpanzee model.
Whereas J&J vaccine nonetheless awaits nod to be used in India, AstraZeneca’s Covishield is likely one of the two vaccines at present being given in India.
How harmful are these blood clots?
Cheaper and extra simply saved than different Covid-19 vaccines, and hailed to be protected and 79% efficient at stopping symptomatic Covid-19, AstraZeneca vaccine has been suspended in folks below 60 years of age in lots of nations together with South Korea and the Philippines. Referred to as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), it’s a very uncommon and particular sort of blood clot within the mind occurring along with low ranges of platelets (thrombocytopenia) following vaccination. Noting the situation as “uncommon”, the French Medicines Company (ANSM) advised AFP, “This thrombosis of enormous veins is unusually positioned within the mind, and much more hardly ever within the digestive tract.”
Within the Indian context, the nation ought to have reported 320 instances of blood clot related to administering of Covishield vaccine by now if the European ranges of threat calculated for AstraZeneca had been to use to the nation, in accordance with eminent scientist Gagandeep Kang. She termed it a “very small threat” with completely no want for apprehension. Kang, Professor on the Christian Medical Faculty, Vellore, stated that the European ranges of threat of blood clots from the AstraZeneca vaccine are 1 out of 100,000 in accordance with the European Medicines Company (EMA) and 1 out of 250,000 as reported by the British Well being Regulator.
“There are sure to be just a few or a number of instances of people that have had blood clots after getting a jab. That’s to be anticipated. What we have to know is whether or not these blood clots had been accompanied with a low platelet rely,” Kang advised The Wire in an interview. She stated the federal government ought to arrange an inquiry to look into this matter in a time-bound method and make its report totally public. In response to the virologist, if the European-level calculations had been to use to India, the nation would have a complete of three,000 instances of blood clots out of its whole goal of 300 million folks to be vaccinated.
In response to Kang, out of the 80 million doses of the Astrazeneca the vaccine is already given, India ought to have 320 instances. She added that it is a “very small threat” and there’s completely no want for apprehension. Nonetheless, she stated the precise numbers of such instances aren’t recognized at present.
(With PTI inputs)
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