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Health

Gottlieb says circumstances will decline, vaccinations monumental achievement

A vaccination center displays signs and age groups for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as California reveals eligibility to vaccinate all residents 16 and older during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Chula Vista, California, United States on April 15 2021.

Mike Blake | Reuters

Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottleib said Sunday that a steep decline in new Covid-19 cases in the US is likely to continue and predicted a “relatively calm summer in terms of the spread of coronavirus” .

“Look, the situation in the US continues to improve, and I think the decline in cases will accelerate in the coming weeks,” Gottlieb said on CBS News’ Face the Nation.

The doctor credited the mass vaccination campaign launched under President Donald Trump and continued under President Joe Biden to help stem the spread of the disease.

“This was a monumental achievement – the introduction of this vaccine, the vaccination of so many Americans – and it will go on,” said Gottlieb. “We will keep working on it. The vaccination rate will slow down in the coming weeks. But we will continue to take in more people when we come into the summer.”

To date, more than 100 million Americans have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or nearly a third of the population. Approximately 146 million people, or 44% of the population, received at least one dose.

The rate of vaccine administration has declined slightly in the past few weeks after months of spike after receiving one for most of the people who were most likely to want a shot.

As more Americans got vaccines, cases of Covid-19 have fallen sharply. As of Saturday, the 7-day average of daily new cases fell to below 50,000, a decrease of 17% compared to the previous week. Hospital stays and deaths due to the disease are also decreasing.

To get a feel for what might be coming up for the US, Gottlieb said it might be helpful to check out heavily vaccinated San Francisco.

“About 71% of the people in San Francisco had at least one dose of the vaccine, 47% were fully vaccinated. They record about 20 cases a day. You have about 20 people hospitalized,” Gottlieb said.

“They have dramatically reduced Covid in this city and it is largely the result of vaccinations,” he added.

From a financial point of view, Gottlieb suggested that the profits from vaccination were “stalled” and “fairly sustainable”.

“We are entering warm months in which this will create a setback against the spread of the coronavirus, and we are securing these profits,” said Gottlieb.

Even if the health situation in the USA is on the verge of normal, it is deteriorating in other countries with fewer resources. In India, the new daily cases exceeded 400,000 on Saturday, a record.

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC employee and a member of the boards of directors of Pfizer, genetic testing startup Tempus, health technology company Aetion Inc., and biotech company Illumina. He is also co-chair of the Healthy Sail Panel for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean.

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Health

Dr. Scott Gottlieb expects little impression on U.S. Covid instances

The restrictions recently announced by the Biden government on travelers from India are unlikely to play a significant role in limiting new coronavirus cases in the US, said Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Friday.

“Will it have an impact? Perhaps a minor impact on margins in terms of reducing introductions. This will not affect our trajectory dramatically at this point,” the former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration told Closing Bell. “It will probably do more harm to India than any good it attributes to us.”

Gottlieb, who sits on the board of directors at Covid vaccine maker Pfizer, believes the White House’s main reasons for restricting travel from India are concerns about the variant of coronavirus known as B.1.617. It was first discovered in the country and is considered highly contagious.

“But that variant is here anyway, and frankly the best way to reduce the risk of this variant is to get more Americans vaccinated,” said Gottlieb, who headed the FDA in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019, the best Backstop against the spread of this variant without restricting travel at this point. “

White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced the travel restrictions on Friday, which will go into effect on Tuesday. India has seen a sharp spike in Covid cases in the past few weeks and weighs heavily on its health system as the daily death toll hit new records.

According to someone familiar with the matter, the travel order is likely to be for non-US citizens or permanent residents who have recently been to India. This means that the restrictions will have a similar format to those put in place on many trips to the US from China, Brazil and the European Union, effectively excluding most of the visitors from India to the US

“There are some studies that show that implementing travel restrictions can delay the introduction of a virus to a new area – and most of the studies that have been done have looked at pandemic influenza-related introduction and perhaps reduction the height of the epidemic that another country will experience, “said Gottlieb.

If the US had introduced travel restrictions earlier in the pandemic, “which weren’t that leaky,” Gottlieb said, it would be possible that the coronavirus would have taken longer to penetrate the country and limit the severity of the outbreak.

“But at this point we have enough viruses here in the US not to prevent the virus from being brought in from India,” he said.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request to comment on Gottlieb’s comments.

Coronavirus cases in the US have continued to decline as more Americans are vaccinated against Covid. On Friday, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that more than 100 million Americans were fully vaccinated.

However, the pace of daily re-vaccinations has slowed, and states are working to find ways to target Americans who are not particularly eager to get a Covid shot.

“I think we can keep working on it,” said Gottlieb, suggesting that a decrease in the average number of shots per day “doesn’t mean we’re doing a bad job.” He added, “I think it’s inevitable that it slows down when you get into weaker demand.”

“Things like vaccination buses, where they just drive up to communities and people can show up on site without waiting and get vaccinated. That way, more people are vaccinated,” added Gottlieb. “Delivering vaccines through construction sites will also help.”

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC employee and a member of the boards of directors of Pfizer, genetic testing startup Tempus, health technology company Aetion Inc., and biotech company Illumina. He is also co-chair of the Healthy Sail Panel for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean.

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Health

Singapore experiences 16 Covid instances locally, highest in 9 months

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Ministry of Health reported 16 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest number since July 11 when the country reported 24 cases in the community.

The Southeast Asian country divides the cases into three categories – imported from overseas, in dormitories for migrant workers, and in the community.

In recent months, most of the infections in Singapore have been found in people entering the country and serving its mandatory quarantines.

However, cases in the church have increased this month.

“Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 9 cases in the previous week to 13 cases in the past week,” the ministry said on Wednesday. So far, cases in the community have been around two per week.

People wearing face masks as a precaution walk down Orchard Road, a famous shopping area in Singapore.

Maverick Asio | SOPA pictures | LightRocket | Getty Images

Seven of Thursday’s community cases are family members of a previously confirmed case, while eight are related to a nurse who tested positive for Covid on Tuesday.

These eight cases were discovered through “proactive testing of patients and staff” on the ward where the nurse worked, the ministry said. No details were given about the remaining community case.

The nurse had received both doses of the vaccine but developed symptoms this week. After her infection was confirmed, the hospital closed the ward where she worked. A Facebook post also stated that no visitors were allowed to enter the stations until further notice.

In addition to community cases, Singapore reported 19 imported cases on Thursday, bringing the country’s total since the pandemic started to 61,121. As of April 18, Singapore had given more than 2.2 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine, with nearly 850,000 fully vaccinated out of a population of 5.7 million.

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Business

Greater than 6.6. million instances in April

A man riding his bike on a street in Old New Delhi on April 19, 2021 as India’s capital is due to impose a week-long lockdown starting tonight, officials said as the megacity struggles to contain a huge surge in Covid-19 Cases with hospitals running out of beds and having low oxygen supplies.

Sajjad Hussain | AFP | Getty Images

India reported a new record spike in daily Covid-19 cases on Friday amid a deadly second wave that crippled its healthcare system.

Health ministry data showed there were 386,452 cases in a 24-hour period – the world’s highest daily increase. At least 3,498 people died during this time.

After the first wave peaked in September, it took hold of the South Asian country Six months until the number of cases rose from around 6 million to 12 million by the end of March. In April alone, India reported more than 6.6 million cases as the cumulative total rose to 18.76 million.

India is the second most severely affected country in the world based on the total number of reported cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University. However, recent reports suggest that India’s death toll is not adequately reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has come under increasing criticism for allowing large crowds to gather for religious festivals and election campaigns in different parts of the country. Commentators said the mass gatherings – which sometimes gathered millions – likely became super-spreader events.

The World Health Organization said this week that there are several mutant variants of the coronavirus floating around in India, which is likely to fuel the surge. Hospitals are overwhelmed by the lack of beds and supplies, including much-needed oxygen and medication.

Experts have said India’s best way to fight the pandemic is to vaccinate much of its 1.3 billion population to achieve herd immunity where the disease can no longer spread rapidly as most people live in the population have either been infected or vaccinated and who have done so will be immune to it. To date, the country has administered more than 150 million doses of vaccine, but only a small percentage of the population has completed vaccine doses two doses required.

As of May 1st, people between the ages of 18 and 45 can be vaccinated in India.

However, the country is facing vaccine shortages despite being the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines. The situation is expected to worsen as more people sign up to get their recordings.

India’s financial capital, Mumbai, will stop vaccinating people between April 30 and May 2, after stocks run out, according to city officials. “Every effort is made to get more stock and keep going,” said the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located, is the epicenter of India’s second wave of infections.

Media reported that international aid has arrived in India. Reuters said the first U.S. flight carrying oxygen cylinders, regulators, rapid diagnostic kits, N95 masks and pulse oximeters arrived in Delhi on Friday.

The United States announced this week that it will send more than $ 100 million in medical aid to India, including supplies the South Asian country needs to boost vaccine production and produce over 20 million doses.

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Health

Turkey goes into first full lockdown as third-wave Covid instances surge

People are shopping in the Egyptian bazaar and around Eminonu before a full lockdown from Thursday evening through May 17 to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Istanbul, Turkey on April 29, 2021.

Ezra Bilgin | Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Turkey will be completely in lockdown for three weeks starting Thursday as a third wave of coronavirus cases hit the country’s health system.

The 82-million country had by then managed to avoid a full lockdown and impose a series of partial restrictions that brought the average daily caseload to 6,000 by February. However, a loosening of these restrictions in March sparked a new wave of infections that gave Turkey the highest daily case rate in Europe, reaching more than 60,000 registered cases per day by the end of April.

The government is asking all businesses to shut down, unless the Home Office grants an exception, to ban intercity travel without a permit, and to relocate all schooling online. Supermarkets can remain open except on Sundays.

Turkey has reported more than 4.7 million cases of the virus and over 39,000 deaths since the pandemic began. That’s a relatively low 0.8% death rate, which official figures say is due to the country’s strong health system.

However, as the new surge continues to spread, residents fear the economic impact of the lockdown on a population already affected by high inflation, rising unemployment and a dramatically weakened currency.

The lockdown will “destroy the people who want to make money for their loved ones as the economy was badly hit even before the corona,” Eyal, an Istanbul tourist who works in the tourism industry, told CNBC.

“As a person in the tourism sector, we also have problems with the government’s poorly managed corona situation as after (the announcement of the lockdown) the few reservations we had were canceled,” Eyal said, withholding his last name for fear of government reprisals .

The Turkish Ministry of Health did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, tourism accounts for 7.7% of Turkish employment. Record sales were achieved in tourism in 2019 before falling a whopping 72% in the first eleven months of 2020, Reuters reported in November.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that without stricter restrictions and slowed down infection rates, a “high price” would be paid for tourism, education and trade. He wants to reduce the daily infections to 5,000. According to the Johns Hopkins University, the daily recorded cases as of Wednesday were 40,444.

“More and more unemployed”

The bus stops in Istanbul were full of travelers trying to get out of the city before the lockdown. Many Turks fear that this could only make the situation worse.

“This curfew might be the only solution to lessen the new cases, but almost all of the people who have the money didn’t want to stay in Istanbul,” he said, describing an exodus to other parts of the country that he fears Increase the new falls instead of decreasing them. “

Erdogan has also come under fire for hosting overcrowded events, like a massive gathering for his political party’s congress in late March, which packed thousands of people into a 10,400-capacity sports complex to obey the socially distant rules to withdraw from Turkey.

“I’m just as scared as I was watching the big indoor government gatherings for no reason,” Eyal said. “There’s a little bit of government support, almost nothing, and there are more and more unemployed and I’m worried about them.”

The Turkish Presidency Office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

“Bad Execution” and Prohibition of Alcohol

“It’s not the lockdown itself that is frustrating, but the poor execution,” a European expat living in Istanbul told CNBC anonymously over concerns about government reprisals.

“Whenever the number of cases seems to be going down, the restrictions are being lifted prematurely, which happened not so long ago. The number of cases ended up being below 5,000 and all bars and restaurants were up and running, which is the biggest increase we’ve had . ” ,” he said.

Another government policy has rubbed off many Turks and residents: a ban on alcohol sales from April 29th to May 17th.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY – APRIL 29: People are waiting in a queue in the Cevizlibag district to board metro buses and trams to return their homes before the full lockdown Thursday evening through May 17 to stop the spread of coronavirus in Istanbul, Turkey on May 29 Curb April, 2021 (Photo by Isa Terli / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

“Probably the furthest thing is the ban on alcohol,” said the expat resident, adding, “This has caused outrage among secular Turks, saying that the government has no right to deal with any person and what they drink at home , too busy. “”

Earlier this week, #alkolumedokunma – meaning “don’t touch my alcohol” – was the most popular hashtag on Turkish Twitter as secular politicians criticized the government’s move to impose religious values ​​on the country’s people.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

The lockdown “comes at a bad time for Turkey,” said Agathe Demarais, global forecasting director at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Inflation in Turkey is 15%, youth unemployment is 25% and the Turkish lira has hit record lows against the dollar in recent months.

“The new measures will further reduce confidence and increase uncertainty, which will weigh on economic growth this year,” said Demarais.

Still, she noted, “There is light at the end of the tunnel on the coronavirus front: Turkey’s vaccination program is proceeding rapidly and the government should be able to lift restrictions later this year, possibly before the crucial summer season for tourism. “

The EIU estimates that Turkey vaccinated the majority of its adult population in the first half of 2022, which would place it in the same category as Canada, Australia or South Korea.

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Health

Covid ‘risk stays current’ WHO says at the same time as Europe’s circumstances decline

A boy reacts next to the body of his father, who died of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in a crematorium in New Delhi, India, on April 24, 2021.

Adnan Abidi | Reuters

LONDON – The threat to Europe from the coronavirus “remains,” the World Health Organization said Thursday, despite the recent drop in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the region.

“It has been 462 days since the first Covid-19 cases were reported. Based on the number of confirmed cases, 5.5% of the total European population had Covid-19, while 7% completed a full series of vaccinations,” he said WHO Regional Director for Europe, said Dr. Hans Kluge in a press conference on Thursday.

“But even if new cases, hospital stays and deaths decrease, the threat remains,” warned Kluge.

The virus still has the potential to wreak havoc, he added, noting that almost half of all reported infections in Europe since the pandemic began actually occurred in the first four months of this year.

However, as a sign of hope for the region, he added that “for the first time in two months, new cases fell significantly last week. Nevertheless, infection rates in the region remain extremely high.”

The comments are found amid a mixed picture of recovery around the world. As India grapples with a devastating surge in cases and a lack of medical care, other parts of the world are starting to reopen their economies.

In Europe, the UK is steadily lifting its lockdown and the introduction of vaccinations is progressing rapidly. To date, nearly 34 million adults in the country have received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and over 13 million people have had two doses, government data shows.

In mainland Europe, according to the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 133 million doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in 30 countries in the European Economic Area (EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).

The speed of vaccination programs varies widely across the EU, with some countries advancing faster than others.

WHO’s Kluge called on governments not to allow vaccination programs, public engagement for vaccines, or surveillance of the virus.

“Where vaccination rates are highest in high-risk groups, hospital admissions and death rates fall. Vaccines save lives, and they will change the course of this pandemic and ultimately help end it,” he said.

“We also need to be aware of the fact that vaccines alone will not end the pandemic.” Without informing and involving the communities, they remain exposed to the virus. Without monitoring, we cannot identify any new variants. And without tracing, governments may have to reintroduce restrictive measures. “

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Business

Royal Caribbean halts hiring in India as Covid circumstances surge there

The cruise ship Mariner of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operated, was shown in 2018.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Royal Caribbean Cruises is temporarily suspending all operations for its employees from India and, according to a report from the Crew Center, will suspend the employment in the country as more and more cases of Covid-19 are occurring there.

India reported a record number of coronavirus cases on Monday for the fifth consecutive year, with over 350,000 new infections over a 24-hour period and a total of 17 million infections in the country.

“It is always unfortunate when we have to cancel orders, but we believe that this is a prudent decision at this point in time,” quoted the Royal Caribbean International news agency, quoting a letter to the crew it had received. “It’s not the way we want to work, but it’s the reality of the quick changes we have to make for a variety of reasons, often unplanned and beyond our direct control.”

According to the crew center report, around 300 Indian crew members should be working on the company’s ship Anthem of the Seas as of May 3. A person familiar with the matter told the news agency that the crew would be provided accommodations under quarantine guidelines. Some of the workers have already been to St. Maarten, the report said.

A Royal Caribbean spokesman told CNBC in an email: “We are continuing to monitor the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, including travel restrictions to and from areas with a high fall rate. To ensure the health and safety of our crew ensure guests and residents of the destination we are visiting we are currently being extra careful with the movement of crew members from India to our ships due to the recent surge in COVID-19. “

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World News

India stories document new Covid circumstances for fifth straight day

Medical staff in PSA caring for a person at the Covid-19 Temporary Care Center attached to LNJP Hospital at Shehnai Banquet Hall on April 23, 2021 in New Delhi, India.

Raj K Raj | Hindustan Times | Getty Images

India reported a record number of Covid-19 cases for the fifth consecutive year on Monday, while the official death toll also rose.

Official data showed that 352,991 new cases were reported within 24 hours as the total number of infections exceeded 17 million.

At least 2,812 people died, bringing the death toll to over 195,000 – media reports suggest the official death rate is likely undercounted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been criticized for gathering large crowds for religious festivals and election campaigns in different parts of the country this year. Before the second wave, India had an average of around 10,000 new cases per day.

In April alone, the South Asian nation reported more than 5 million new cases, marginalizing the country’s health system.

Hospitals run out of beds and are also turning away from seriously ill patients. There is a serious shortage of oxygen supply, partly due to an uneven distribution between states. This has resulted in the deaths of many Covid-19 patients as the government strives to ensure supplies to the worst hit states by road, rail and air.

“It put a heavy strain on healthcare infrastructure, supplies and oxygen, as the amount of materials needed was four times what it was in the first wave,” Naresh Trehan, chairman of Medanta Hospital, told CNBC Street Signs Asia on Monday .

“We are actually having trouble coping with all of this,” he said. Additional measures are being taken to create more beds and to stimulate the production of more personal protective equipment and medicines. India’s “weak point”, however, is the lack of medical oxygen.

International answer

The international community responded with a promise to send urgently needed aid to India.

The United States will send raw materials necessary for India to advance AstraZeneca’s local manufacturing of the vaccine, as well as therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators and protective equipment. It will also deploy a team of public health advisors from the Center for Disease Control and USAID to India.

This came after the UK, France and Germany pledged aid over the weekend. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter that the European Union is “pooling resources to respond quickly to India’s request for assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism”.

Last week, China’s Foreign Ministry said Beijing was “in communication” with New Delhi and “ready to provide assistance and assistance as India needs it.”

Singapore state investor Temasek said Sunday it has partnered with Air India and Amazon India to ventilate medical devices like oxygen concentrators and ventilators from the city-state. Medical supplies have been sent to the financial capital, Mumbai, in Maharashtra, and the eastern state of West Bengal, where more and more cases are occurring.

Big tech companies like Microsoft and Google have also publicly pledged to help.

Medical workers chat among themselves at a quarantine center for patients infected with Covid-19 coronavirus in a banquet room that was being converted into an isolation center on April 15, 2021 in New Delhi, India, to treat the rising cases of infection.

Anindito Mukherjee | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Local answer

Corporate India has also stepped up its efforts to help the country secure medical supplies to relieve the burden on the health infrastructure.

Indian media reported that billionaire Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Industries will produce over 700 tons of medical-grade oxygen daily in one of its oil refineries. It is to be given free of charge to the worst affected countries.

The Tata Group announced last week that it would import 24 cryogenic containers, which are also reportedly in short supply, to carry liquid oxygen. In the meantime, Jindal Steel and Power have announced that they will supply hospitals in dire need of it with 500 tons of liquid oxygen.

Indian social media users have also taken to the platforms to coordinate availability and access to medical care, oxygen bottles and other forms of assistance.

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Health

A brand new research hints at a purpose the J.&J. and AstraZeneca vaccines could trigger blood clots in uncommon circumstances.

An advisory group from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine hiatus be lifted for all adults while also putting up a warning sign about a rare but dangerous blood clot disorder. However, a central mystery remains: how could a vaccine given to nearly eight million people cause the side effect in just a few of them?

There’s no clear answer yet, but Dr. Andreas Greinacher, a researcher at the University Medical Center Greifswald in Germany, leads an attempt to find out. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, he said he had an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to study the components of the vaccine to see if it could interfere with normal blood clotting under certain rare conditions.

“We just agreed that we’d like to work together,” he said.

It is possible, said Dr. Greinacher that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can cause rare side effects through the same process that he suspects is responsible for similar side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The main component of both vaccines are harmless viruses called adenoviruses, which invade human cells and deliver a coronavirus gene that later triggers an immune response.

On Tuesday, Dr. Greinacher and his colleagues published a report on how the AstraZeneca vaccines can trigger the side effect. The study has not yet been published in a scientific journal.

The scientists found that components of the AstraZeneca vaccine can adhere to a protein that releases platelets when blood clots form. These lumps of molecules could be viewed by the body as foreign invaders, the scientists speculated, triggering a cascade of reactions that turn platelets into dangerous clots.

Dr. Paul A. Offit, a vaccines expert at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital who was not involved in the study, found Dr. Greinacher fascinating, but far from the final word. “It throws a lot of opportunities,” he said.

Dr. Offit said it was not clear which of the many factors the researchers looked at could explain the rare blood clots in people vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s doses. “It’s like taking a sip from a fire hose,” he said.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Dr. Greinacher said the research could reveal ways the AstraZeneca vaccine can lower the risk of blood clots or treat the side effects. However, he stressed that the small risk of these side effects was outweighed by the protection that vaccines like AstraZeneca offer against Covid-19.

“Not being vaccinated is far more dangerous than being vaccinated and at risk for this adverse drug reaction,” he said.

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Health

A C.D.C. panel discusses new uncommon clot circumstances in J. & J. shot recipients and the way total threat appears to be very low.

Twelve of the 15 women in the confirmed cases developed blood clots in the brain. Many had blood clots elsewhere as well. Initial symptoms, which include a headache, usually begin six or more days after vaccination, said Dr. Shimabukuro. As the disorder develops, it can cause increased headaches, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, weakness in one side of the body, difficulty speaking, loss of consciousness, and seizures.

Dr. Shimabukuro found that seven of the women were obese, two had hypothyroidism, two had high blood pressure, and two were using oral contraceptives. It is not yet clear whether any of these factors could increase the risk of developing a coagulation disorder after vaccination.

Patients’ symptoms closely resemble a rare syndrome that can be caused by heparin, a widely used blood thinner, said Dr. Michael Streiff, a hematologist at Johns Hopkins University, joined the panel. Heparin, which could typically be used to treat blood clots, shouldn’t be used to treat these patients, he said.

Doctors should consider the rare coagulation disorder in patients who have blood clots and low platelet counts within three weeks of receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, said Dr. Streiff.

“Knowing that this syndrome exists will help improve outcomes,” he said.

The committee could recommend Johnson & Johnson put up a formal warning label about the side effects, as the company has done in the European Union. About 10 million doses or more of the vaccine, which is manufactured at the company’s facility in the Netherlands, are on shelves in the United States and could be used immediately.

The meeting comes as the federal government is also investigating issues at a Baltimore factory that is slated to meet the country’s demand. Emergent BioSolutions, the operator of the facility, has manufactured tens of millions of doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, but they cannot be distributed until regulatory agencies certify the facility.

After Emergent had to discard up to 15 million potentially contaminated doses of the vaccine last month, federal regulators conducted an inspection that found a number of problems, including the risk of other lots being contaminated.