The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine "out of an abundance of caution."
In a series of tweets Tuesday morning, the FDA said it was recommending a pause after receiving reports that six people developed "rare and severe" blood clots after receiving the vaccine.
"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. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases," the FDA said in a statement Tuesday.
So far, nearly 7 million Americans have received a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The decision to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — currently the only single-dose vaccine approved for use in the U.S. — comes less than a week before President Joe Biden's target date to ensure all Americans are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.
