Swedish health agency extends pause on J&J vaccine

Sweden's Public Health Agency said on Monday it was extending its recommendation against beginning vaccinations using the COVID-19 vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson.

The agency said the vaccine could be given to people aged 65 and above but that this group would already be inoculated with other vaccines by the time the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was delivered to Sweden in substantial quantities. "We think it is better to recommend the vaccines that healthcare is now used to using," Chief Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said in a statement.

The agency said on April 14 it would not start using the COVID-19 vaccine following reports of rare blood clots, similar to those reported for the AstraZeneca shot.