Thread by @DaveKeating

Bad news for the EU & UK's vaccine roll-out: the US has recommended pausing the use of the #JohnsonandJohnson vaccine because of reports of blood clots in young women, similar to the #AstraZeneca reports. The US has not authorised AZ.

Will EU &UK follow? edition.cnn.com/2021/04/13/hea…

Johnson & Johnson doses are just today arriving to EU countries for the 1st time. It was hoped the new availability could speed up the rollout.

EU EMA has been reviewing the J&J blood clot issue.
euronews.com/2021/04/09/eu-…

Given it didn't recommend any restriction on use of the #AstraZeneca even after it found a link between the rare blood clots and the vaccine, it seems unlikely EMA will follow the US in recommending a J&J pause.

But national authorities in EU may disregard that advice and pause.

However even if there's a J&J pause, it should be noted that the EU's biggest countries have had a big increase in the pace of vaccinations recently without the new vaccine (mostly using Pfizer).

So what the effect would be of a J&J pause here on the rollout is unclear.

So we will probably be in a situation where 🇺🇸 is restricting #JohnsonandJohnson, 🇬🇧 is restricting #AstraZeneca, and 🇪🇺 EMA is restricting neither.

Nevertheless I expect continued anglosphere articles about how the EU's precautionary principle will kill us all.