© Associated Press
–
Johnson & Johnson says it is delaying the delivery of its COVID-19 vaccines to Europe “proactively” because of a decision by federal agencies in the United States to search temporary suspension of immunization with the product of their pharmaceutical division “Janssen”.
The statement is published in the week when a number of countries expect the first deliveries of the single-dose product to arrive. Doses have already arrived in others, such as Hungary. For Bulgaria the announced date is April 16 and 14,400 doses are expected.
Jansen’s drug became the fourth vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Earlier today, the break in the United States was requested by the authorities because of six cases of blood clots in people who received a dose. These are women between the ages of 18 and 48, one of whom has died. More than 6.8 million Jansen vaccines have been given to Americans since the start of the immunization campaign (because the product has a single dose, this means the same number of vaccinated).
The safety of users of “our products is our first priority” and “we know about the extremely rare condition”, the message continues. In addition to “proactively postponing deliveries,” Johnson & Johnson is reviewing cases with European regulators, the company said. The EMA said last week that it was analyzing the cases.
It states that on the recommendation of the US authorities, anyone who has a headache, abdominal or leg pain or shortness of breath three days after vaccination should contact the health authorities.
The first European reaction came from a bloc country, Spain, which said it was unaware of any changes to supply plans. The company’s first vaccines were expected tomorrow – a total of 300,000 doses should be given to people between the ages of 70 and 79.
Today, the German Ministry of Health stated that for the time being there are no plans not to use the vaccine, despite the reports coming from the USA.
–
