"Doctors, scientists and public health experts are turning to Europe for clues, where a similar vaccine made by AstraZeneca -- not yet authorized in the U.S. -- also has been linked to a number of rare blood clots."
"The AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson
vaccines are made in a similar way," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease physician at Vanderbilt University with expertise in preventive medicine and health policy. "But the carriers are different kinds of adenoviruses ... that's part of the background information, why indeed there is a pause now."
"It's hard to say if it's the same problem," said Dr. Richard Kuhn, Ph.D., a virology expert at Purdue University, "
but it does seem the vaccine triggers an antibody response that activates platelets, leading to clots."
"While many experts have hesitated to say for sure if there is a link, Schaffner said there's a growing consensus in the scientific community after none of these rare clots have been linked to the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, which use mRNA, a different technology."
"I think we shouldn't be coy about that any longer," Schaffner said,
adding that it may be time to "accept the fact that these are vaccine-induced but very rare events."
But experts cautioned that even if there is a link, current evidence suggests the risk of developing a blood clot after getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is exceedingly low -- lower, in fact, than being struck by lightning.
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