‘J&J jab, clots linked’

EU’s drug regulatory agency links Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine to rare blood clots, wants warning to be added to label.

The EU’s drug regulatory agency said on Tuesday that it found a “possible link” between Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine and rare blood clots, and that a warning should be added to the label. Experts at the agency reiterated that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks.

Last week, J&J halted its vaccine’s European roll-out after US officials recommended a pause in its use when they detected six clot cases among almost 7 million people vaccinated. (Reuters file photo)

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) made the determinations after a small number of blood clot cases in people who had received the vaccine were reported in the US. The agency said a warning about the clots should be added to labels for the J&J vaccine and that the disorders should be considered “very rare side effects of the vaccine”.

The EMA also recommended a label change for AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine after finding a link between it and rare blood clots.

Last week, J&J halted its vaccine’s European roll-out after US officials recommended a pause in its use when they detected six clot cases among almost 7 million people vaccinated.

Nepal’s former king Gyanendra Shah and former queen Komal Shah tested positive for the virus after returning from India where they took part in the Maha Kumbh at Haridwar, The Himalayan Times reported.

Meanwhile, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the WHO, is on a team of 20 experts who make up a UK-led Pandemic Preparedness Partnership (PPP), which is meeting soon as part of global efforts to save lives from future diseases.

A worker in New Zealand’s Auckland airport tested positive, a day after the country opened its border to Australian residents for the first time in over a year. The infected worker was fully vaccinated against the virus.