The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that they are calling for an immediate pause on the use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine after discovering six cases in the United States of a rare and severe type of blood clot that developed about two weeks after the vaccine was administered in these patients.
"Safety is a top priority for the federal government," acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock told reporters in a virtual news briefing, adding that while the blood clots were "extremely rare" the government was acting "out of an abundance of caution."
"We are committed to patient safety," Woodcock said, but she encouraged Americans to continue to get vaccinated with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
"[The] CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance," read a joint CDC and FDA statement issued earlier Tuesday morning. "[The] FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases."
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