FDA, CDC recommend putting Johnson & Johnson vaccine on pause

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – Federal health officials continue to stress that the recommended pause of the Johnson and Johnson coronavirus vaccine was done out of an abundance of caution.

The FDA and CDC issued the recommendation early Tuesday morning saying they were investigating six cases of a rare and severe blood clot that had occurred among the nearly seven million doses that were administered in the US.

One of the patients has died while another is in critical condition.

In a conference call with reporters, agency officials say while the events appear to be “extremely rare” vaccination safety is a “top priority” for the federal government.

The FDA acting commissioner says the pause is expected to last “a matter of days”.

While they do not have a definitive cause, one theory is that it could be a result of an immune response.

An advisory committee to the CDC will be meeting Wednesday afternoon to review the cases.