US to halt use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine after 6 patients develop blood clots

WASHINGTON — U.S. government-run vaccine sites are expected to stop offering the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine after multiple people developed blood clots, according to the New York Times.

The announcement is expected Tuesday after six people in the U.S. developed blood clots within two weeks of getting the vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration is working to determine if there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots.

The Times reports that one woman died from a possibly vaccine-related clot. Another is in critical condition.

All six of the patients were woman between ages 18 and 48.

The decision to halt use of the vaccine comes after the U.S. has already used the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on nearly seven million people, according to the New York Times.

The government is only recommending that states halt usage of the vaccine but is not requiring them to stop.