Dr. Lipman said when the team examined her blood samples the pieces started to fit and they discovered that she appeared to have the same problem that they knew had occurred in the UK and Europe after patients took the AstraZeneca Received the vaccine. mostly in young women. They switched from heparin to another blood thinner and followed instructions from doctors in the UK who had treated AstraZeneca recipients with a similar disorder.
Hoping for more information about the condition and a possible association with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Dr. Lipman to call the Food and Drug Administration for an emergency number. It was a weekend and he said the person who answered told him that there was no one available to help and that the line should be kept open for emergencies.
“I thought this was an emergency,” said Dr. Lipman. “She hang up.”
He called back to ask how to contact Janssen, who makes the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. That information was not available, and he said the person who responded also told him that the FDA was unable to provide advice on patient care.
An FDA spokeswoman, Stephanie Caccomo, said in an email, “We will continue to investigate to ensure doctors who ask for help from the FDA are getting the help they are looking for.”
Dr. Lipman said the pharmacist at his hospital filed an online report with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in early April, but the agency didn’t contact him until this week to inquire about the case. The agency declined to comment on whether they were with Dr. Lipman had communicated, a spokeswoman, Kristen Nordlund, said via email.
At a CDC advisory board meeting on Wednesday, Johnson & Johnson and Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, an agency security expert, shared data on the young woman in Nevada. Following the meeting, Nevada officials issued a statement saying the meeting was the first time they had heard of a case in their state – they had previously informed the public that no cases had been reported – and they asked “federal partners” why the state had not been informed.
At the Nevada hospital, an interventional radiologist inserted a tube through blood vessels into the young woman’s brain and suctioned out the clots with a device. More clots later formed and he performed the procedure again.
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