Johnson & Johnson delays vaccine rollout in Europe

BERLIN (AP) — Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it is delaying the rollout of its coronavirus vaccine in Europe amid a U.S. probe into reports of rare blood clots in some recipients.

The announcement came after regulators in the United States said they were recommending a “pause” in administration of the single-dose shot to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

“We have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities,”Johnson & Johnson said. “We have made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe.”

The delay is a further blow to vaccination drives in European Union member nations, which have been plagued by supply shortages, logistical problems and concerns over unusual blood clots in a small number of people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The blood clot reports prompted several countries in the 27-nation bloc to limit the AstraZeneca vaccine to older age groups, which are more at risk from serious illness when infected with COVID-19.

The European Medicines Agency, the EU’s equivalent to the FDA, said last Friday that it was reviewing cases reported in the United States of blood clotting in people who had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was developed by the company's Janssen subsidiary.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating unusual clots that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48; there was one death.

The Amsterdam-based EMA said following the U.S. announcement Tuesday it “is currently not clear...