Despite very rare cases of blood clotting…: Denmark stops using US company’s Covid vaccine

COPENHAGEN/BOSTON: Denmark said Monday it would not include the Covid-19 vaccine from US drugmaker Johnson & Johnson in its national vaccination campaign, citing worries over serious side effects involving blood clots, reports foreign media. In mid-April, Denmark had already ceased giving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine amid concerns about rare cases of blood clots, the first European country to do so fully. Drug watchdog — the European Medicines Agency — had announced a possible link with clots, but said the risk of dying of Covid-19 was much greater. "The Danish Health Authority has concluded that the benefits of using the Covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson do not outweigh the risk of causing the possible adverse effect... in those who receive the vaccine," the authority said in a statement.

"Therefore, the Danish Health Authority will continue the Danish mass vaccination programme against Covid-19 without the Covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson," it added.

The move comes after the Nordic country last month stopped using AstraZeneca's vaccine altogether over a potential link to a rare but serious form of blood clot.

The rollout of J&J's vaccine has also been delayed elsewhere in Europe over similar clotting concerns, though the WHO and European Medicines Agency (EMA) have both authorised the vaccine.

On the other hand, an American media outlet, citing a report, said rare blood clots are up to 10 times more likely from COVID-19 infection than from Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The chief of neurology at Lifespan Corporation says blood clots aren’t the only long-term effects she has seen in patients who have had COVID-19.

The same rare blood clot condition connected to the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is more of a risk following a COVID-19 infection.

The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association’s Stroke Council Leadership released the report Friday, which examines the symptoms and treatment options for cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, which are blood clots in the brain’s veins.