CDC Committee Agrees to Extend ‘Pause’ on J&J Vaccine Rollout for Further Review

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has extended Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine pause and has decided to review it further after federal officials recommended a pause in the rollout. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met one day after the FDA and CDC recommended the pause over concern of six instances of a rare, severe blood clot in over 6.8 million vaccine recipients.

Many members at CDC felt there was insufficient data to make an evidence-based decision about the vaccine. The committee has decided to collect further background information about cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) with low platelet count, specific risk factors, ability to compare thrombotic cases post-vaccination between AstraZeneca and J&J vaccines, and the true incidence of cases specific to J&J vaccine recipients.

The committee members have stated that the extended pause did not indicate increased concern but instead an attempt to better characterizes the risk. The instances have been described as "extremely rare" by the FDA. The committee said that by Friday, it would determine when to meet next and discuss the data.