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Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday that the agency has now identified 28 cases of blood clots with low platelets in people who received the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine. The 28 cases were found after more than 8.7 million doses of the single injection vaccine were administered, the agency said. There were no confirmed cases involving any of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.
According to the CDC, four of the 28 people with the condition remained in the hospital as of May 7, one of whom was in the ICU, and two have been discharged to a post-acute care facility. Health agencies paused use of the vaccine for 10 days last month beginning on April 13 to investigate the rare and potentially fatal side effect, and to educate providers on how to treat it. Twelve of the patients were treated with heparin, which is a blood thinner normally used for blood clots, but has been shown to make this specific condition worse.
All 28 confirmed cases occurred before the pause began on April 13. The median age of patients was 40 and their ages ranged from 18 to 59. Of the 28 cases, 22 occurred in women and six occurred in men. The CDC said the known potential benefits of the vaccine continued to outweigh its potential risks.
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