Health Canada looking into blood clot concerns with J&J vaccine, risk remains low

Quebec says the female patient, whose age was not revealed, received the appropriate care and is recovering at home.

By Cormac Mac Sweeney, Lucas Casaletto

The Prime Minister is urging Canadians to hold on and keep following public health measures as variants spread quickly across Canada as the United States has decided to hit pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to blood clot concerns.

“Obviously we’re following closely the developments in the United States,” Trudeau said.

Advisors in the U.S. advised a pause on the J&J vaccine as it looks into reports of extremely rare blood clots in six patients. One has died another is in critical condition.

More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the U.S to date.

Health Canada is investigating the matter and is contacting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the drugmaker to get more information.

For the moment, the Prime Minister says Canada is still due to receive its first shipment at the end of the month and that Health Canada will always put the safety of the people first.

This comes on the heels of Canada’s public health agency confirming the first reported case of a blood clot in a resident after they were treated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Quebec says the female patient, whose age was not revealed, received the appropriate care and is recovering at home.

Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa this morning, Trudeau noted that intensive care beds are filling up in Ontario and elsewhere — and that’s not what anyone wants.

“When hospitals fill up, it puts pressure on nurses, doctors, and all health care workers,” said the Prime Minister.

“It means operations and treatments have to be cancelled or postponed, like people waiting for cancer surgery.”

Ontario’s Ministry of Health says there are more than 1,800 people in hospital because of COVID-19, and more than a third of them are in the I-C-U.

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