The European Medicines Agency (EMA) plans to present its report on possible cerebral vein thrombosis from Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine today. After six cases of blood clots became known in the USA after around seven million vaccinations, vaccinations with this preparation were temporarily suspended in several countries.
The experts of the EMA Security Committee examined these cases in an accelerated process. However, the authority had emphasized that the US manufacturer’s vaccines can be used without restriction.
Breakdown in US factory
After a breakdown in the manufacture of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has meanwhile requested a production stop at the affected plant in the US. Emergent BioSolutions, which operates the Baltimore, Maryland, facility, announced today in a statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that the FDA has requested that production be suspended pending an ongoing investigation.
The US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson had confirmed at the end of March that a batch of its vaccine in the production facility in Baltimore „did not meet the quality requirements“. Johnson & Johnson did not provide any numbers themselves. According to the New York Times, 15 million vaccine doses were unusable. Johnson & Johnson announced that it would deliver an additional 24 million cans in April despite the glitch.
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine received emergency approval in the United States in late February.
