CDC Has An Important Update On Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Blood Clots

It has been a few weeks since Johnson & Johnson started immunizing people again after their one-shot COVID-19 vaccine was temporarily paused. As NPR reported, the pausing of the vaccine in light of reports of blood clots was a "confidence-shaking event."

Despite the fear surrounding the very rare risk of developing a clot, at first, consider that only a few reports of vaccine-induced clots had been recorded. Now, as CNN reports, the CDC has disclosed that there have been 28 cases of the potentially-deadly clots linked to Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine. This is out of 8.7 million doses administered in the U.S.

While that number may sound scary, there is another fact CNN reports on that is even more disturbing — in the same time period as the shots were administered, 2.2 million people got COVID-19, and 43,000 died from the virus. Given this data, CNN concluded one's risk of dying from coronavirus is 40 times the risk of developing a blood clot.

As CNBC reports, the median age of the 28 people who developed blood clots after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 40, with cases being reported in individuals between 18 and 59. Meanwhile, women ages 30 to 39 appear to be at greatest risk. It's important to note that three people have died after developing the clots.

But interestingly, NBC reports all 28 cases of the clots stemmed from shots given before the pause was lifted on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The outlet reports six cases out of the 28 were men, and while some patients remain hospitalized, the majority of them, or 19 in total, are now home.

Ultimately, the CDC and FDA recommend the use of the vaccine, and warn women under 50 should be aware of their increased risk of developing the rare clots.