THL mulls adding J&J to coronavirus vaccines list

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) will consider the inclusion of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine in the Finnish vaccine programme after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued its own recommendation on the vaccine, said THL in a press release.

The vaccine has been in extensive use in the United States, where rare cases of blood clotting problems have emerged among recipients. The clinical picture of the disturbances resembles that of one of the adenovirus vaccines, AstraZeneca's Vaxzevria.

In the United States, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been given to nearly eight million people as of last Friday. Among them a total of 15 rare cases of blood clotting were reported, mostly among women under the age of 50. In the United States, the vaccine continues to be administered, under the terms of the sales licence, to those over the age of 18.

Many other countries are now drawing up their own recommendations for the use of the vaccine and the European Medicines Agency is expected to issue a new review on vaccine safety next week. Research has indicated that the vaccine effectively protects against coronavirus disease and gives good protection against serious cases of coronavirus disease caused by virus mutations.

About 30,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine came to Finland the week before last and this week. The vaccines are being kept in storage at THL until a decision is made on their use. A minimum age of 65 years has been in place for the AstraZeneca Vaxzevria vaccine because of a possible rare blood coagulation problem. No increase in coagulation disorders has been found with vaccines of the mRNA type.