Concern as J&J Covid vaccine is restricted over blood clots

The Johnson &Johnson Covid-19 vaccine. PHOTO/NET

What you need to know:

  • Uganda has received 15.8 million doses of J&J and the majority were administered in hard-to-reach places, according to the Ministry of Health.

Concerns over the safety of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Covid-19 vaccine have increased after fresh restrictions on its use were issued by the American drug regulator over rising cases of rare and potentially deadly blood clots.

In a May 5 statement on their website, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the vaccine will now only be used in their country for cases where there is no alternative. 

“After conducting an updated analysis, evaluation and investigation of reported cases, the FDA has determined that the risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a syndrome of rare and potentially life-threatening blood clots in combination with low levels of blood platelets with onset of symptoms approximately one to two weeks following administration of the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine, warrants limiting the authorised use of the vaccine,” the FDA said.

The reporting rate of TTS is 3.23 per million doses of vaccine administered and the reporting rate of TTS deaths is 0.48 per million doses of vaccine administered, FDA said. The agency said the benefits of the J&J vaccine outweigh the risks.

Uganda has received 15.8 million doses of J&J and the majority were administered in hard-to-reach places, according to the Ministry of Health.

At least 9.5 million doses of the vaccine for which the government paid Shs37b to acquire, have been dispatched to districts.

Mr Abiaz Rwamwiri, the spokesperson of the Uganda National Drug Authority, when asked if the country is registering such cases of TTS and whether some actions were taken, said he will confirm and get back to us. He had not yet done so by press time.

Dr Charles Olaro, the director of clinical services at the Ministry of Health, told Daily Monitor that they will do an assessment to find out if there are such cases of blood clots among vaccine recipients in Uganda.

“What was observed in America could be a result of genetic and geographical variations. What I know is that we have not received reports of blood clots in the country but we will find out,” he said.