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US advisory panel members wary of ending pause on J&J COVID-19 vaccine

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Members of a US health panel on Wednesday voiced concern over resuming vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 shot, even as a US Food and Drug Administration scientist said warnings could mitigate the risk of rare but serious blood clots.

The panel is reviewing six reported cases of rare brain blood clots in women who received the J&J vaccine, a day after federal regulators paused its use to assess the issue.

Dr. Lynn Batha, an epidemiologist at the Minnesota Health Department, and several others spoke in favor of extending the pause to gather more safety information.

“By having more robust information, I think we can be more confident about how we talk about the safety of this vaccine,”she told other members of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel, which is considering whether to vote on a change in policy regarding the shot.

Earlier, the FDA’s deputy director for vaccine development, Doran Fink, told the CDC panel that his current thinking was that warning statements and communications from the federal agency would allow doctors to weigh risks and benefits of the vaccine.

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