Sweden has extended the restriction on the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, which was introduced in mid-April. This was announced on Friday, April 23, by the Swedish Health Authority.
It is noted that people over 65 can still get the vaccine. The vaccine is not recommended for other age groups.
As explained in the management, vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca were recommended for people born in 1956 and earlier, as a rare but serious side effect was found after using these vaccines – the formation of blood clots. This effect is manifested mainly among young people, so they are not recommended to use drugs from COVID-19 from these companies.
The agency said a large shipment of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is due to arrive in the country in May. As of April 22, approximately 75% of Swedes over 65 have received one dose of the vaccine.
The department also noted that it has not yet been decided for how long to stop vaccination with the drug for people under 65 and when the use of the vaccine will become possible among all age categories.
Earlier on March 16, the Swedish Health Authority suspended vaccination with the drug company AstraZeneca amid the emergence of data on the formation of blood clots in those vaccinated. As noted in the department, the drug will not be used until the completion of the investigation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
On April 20, the EMA announced that it had found a possible link between the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and complications such as thrombosis. It was reported that complications developed in citizens under the age of 60 within three weeks after receiving the vaccine. Most of them are women.
As noted in the EMA on April 23, the agency has not yet been able to determine the mechanism for the development of thrombosis after vaccination against COVID-19 with adenoviral drugs, which include AstraZeneca and Jonhson & Jonhson.
On the same day, it became known about the death of another woman after being vaccinated with a drug from Johnson & Johnson. This is a 50-year-old Oregon woman who was vaccinated with a vaccine developed by Janssen (a division of J&J) in early April. According to the state health department, the woman died as a result of blood clots.
On April 13, US medical authorities recommended that the use of the Janssen vaccine be suspended due to potential side effects. In total, 6.8 million people were vaccinated with this drug in the United States, while the authorities recorded six cases of blood clots in women aged 18 to 48 years 6-13 days after vaccination, one of the patients died. Within a day, the use of the drug was suspended in all states of the United States.