The johnson & johnson covid-19 vaccine, women, and vitt

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 virus has posed a serious threat to the health of individuals globally. In just over a year since the official declaration of the global pandemic, the FDA has issued emergency-use authorization of three vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, in the United States. The third vaccine to receive this designation was from Johnson & Johnson, a single-dose adenovirus vector vaccine indicated for individuals aged 18 years and older for protection against COVID-19 infection. Since approval, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been associated with life-threatening thrombosis, requiring a 10-day halt in vaccine administration in April 2021. Case reports have indicated that women aged 18 to 49 years are at the highest risk for experiencing this rare but serious adverse event. Patients who experience vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) should be treated with nonheparin anticoagulants and IV immunoglobulin while avoiding heparin-containing products and platelet transfusions.