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WASHINGTON– In yet another obstacle for Johnson & & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday limited its usage to grownups who can not or refuse to get the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, mentioning security issues.

The company stated 60 cases of a unusual however severe blood-clotting disorder have actually been determined, including nine deaths, out of about 18 million doses administered. The action comes about five months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested Moderna’s and Pfizer’s vaccines over Johnson & & Johnson’s for booster shots.

The F.D.A. said that weighing the dangers of Johnson & & Johnson’s vaccine against the advantages, it had decided to limit its use to adults who can not access Pfizer’s or Moderna’s vaccines, or for whom those shots are not “medically appropriate.” One example would be individuals who experienced a severe allergic response to the other 2 vaccines, the firm said.

It said the vaccine might likewise be offered to adults who “would otherwise not receive a Covid-19 vaccine.”

Johnson & & Johnson was eclipsed long ago by Pfizer and Moderna in the nation’s vaccination project; federal authorities have stated the mRNA vaccines produced by those business are both more secure and more reliable. In a statement, Johnson & & Johnson said the F.D.A.’s action reflected the already-known risk of the negative effects, not brand-new data on the rate at which it takes place. However in a sign of the firm’s own flagging interest in its vaccine, it has stopped supplying sales outlooks for the shot to financiers.

Reports that the vaccine can trigger a condition referred to as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome have bedeviled it from early on. In April 2021, not long after it was approved for emergency situation usage, federal authorities paused distribution of the vaccine for a security examination. Regulators raised the time out 10 days later however included a warning to instructions for its use.

Then, in December, the C.D.C. recommended that adults seeking a booster shot choose Moderna or Pfizer rather of Johnson & & Johnson, citing more advantages and lower threats. Coupled with a host of making problems in the United States, some experts stated, the company’s judgment illustrated that the federal government had all however crossed out Johnson & & Johnson’s vaccine.

According to the F.D.A. announcement on Thursday, federal authorities now have 60 reports of the blood-clotting condition– or four times as many as were reported when last year’s pause in distribution was lifted. In the interim, the number of Johnson & & Johnson dosages administered has somewhat more than doubled, while the number of Pfizer and Moderna receivers has actually skyrocketed.

The number of deaths credited to the condition activated by the Johnson & & Johnson’s vaccine does not appear to have increased much, if at all. There have been far fewer, if any, believed deaths due to side results from the mRNA vaccines, federal health officials have said.

In its statement, the F.D.A. mentioned more than six cases and close to one death credited to the blood-clotting condition for every single 2 million shots of Johnson & & Johnson vaccine administered in the United States.

About 17 million Americans have now gotten one dosage of Johnson & & Johnson’s vaccine, and another 1.5 million have gotten a booster dosage, according to the C.D.C.’s information. By contrast, more than 200 million Americans have actually gotten at least two doses of either Moderna’s or Pfizer’s vaccine.

Trying to cast the tight brand-new restrictions in a positive light, Johnson & & Johnson stated: “Data continue to support a beneficial benefit-risk profile for the Johnson & & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in grownups, when compared to no vaccine.”