Slovenia Halts Johnson & Johnson Vaccinations after Death
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Slovenia halts the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after a related death in September, with the country "most likely" halting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has also been linked to rare blood clots.
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Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
Slovenia announced on Tuesday that the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be used in the country after experts confirmed that the death of a 20-year-old woman earlier this year was caused by the jab.
The country had suspended vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson in September after the woman died of a brain hemorrhage and blood clots just days after getting vaccinated.
In a report, an expert commission confirmed that the victim underwent a rare blood clotting condition, known as vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia.
"The temporary suspension of vaccinations with Janssen (produced by Johnson & Johnson), in force until now, will become permanent," Health Minister Janez Poklukar declared in a news conference.
Moreover, vaccinations with AstraZeneca, which uses viral vector technology like Johnson & Johnson and has also been linked to rare blood clots, "most likely" will also be discontinued, Bojana Beovic, head of the group advising the government on vaccinations said.
The woman's death in September reportedly was the country's second case linked to Johnson & Johnson, after the wife of a Slovenian diplomat based in Paris died in May days after being vaccinated.
With over 16 million Johnson & Johnson's vaccine doses being administrated in the European Union until the end of October, six deaths linked to the jab have been confirmed, according to the Slovenian authorities.
Thousands have attended protests in Slovenia, since September, against coronavirus restrictions and plans to make vaccination mandatory.
Some 54 percent of the country's two million people have been fully vaccinated, below the EU-wide rate of 68 percent.
