The CDC is investigating the death of an Oregon woman and the hospitalization of another in Texas after they received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, health officials in those states said.
News of the investigations come as a CDC advisory group meets Friday to weigh lifting the pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
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The CDC and FDA recommended temporarily pausing use of the J&J vaccine April 13 after six women experienced a rare blood clot out of nearly 7 million shots given.
Use of the vaccine is expected to resume after providers are given guidelines of how to recognize and treat the blood clots. Warnings may be considered, as well.
This week, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the agency was reviewing a handful of possible cases with side effects among those who received the vaccination, in addition to the six cases that led to a pause.
Oregon health authorities say federal officials were investigating the death of a woman in her 50s who developed a blood clot and low platelets within two weeks of receiving the one-dose vaccine, the Associated Press reported.
The Oregon Health Authority learned of the probe Tuesday, two days after the CDC began investigating. The woman received the dose before the national pause.
In Texas, a woman who received the vaccine was hospitalized for symptoms similar to those of six reported last week.
The FDA and CDC informed the Texas Department of State Health Services of the situation Wednesday through the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, the AP reported.
The federal agencies said an adult woman had been hospitalized in Texas with “symptoms that appear to be consistent with those few other reported cases.” No other information was being released, citing patient privacy and confidentiality.
Earlier this week, experts at the agency that regulates drugs for the European Union said they found a “possible link” between the J&J vaccine and the blood clots reported in the U.S., but added that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the small risks of recipients developing the clots.
