Doctors say clot treatment advice key to U.S. resuming J&J COVID vaccines

Resuming the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in the United States will require clear guidelines for the medical community on how to best treat patients that develop a rare type of blood clot, as well as alerting vaccine recipients to be aware of the telltale symptoms, according to heart doctors and other medical experts.

U.S. health regulators recommended last week that use of the J&J vaccine be paused after six cases of rare brain blood clots, accompanied by low platelet levels, were reported in women following vaccination, out of some 7 million people who have received the shot in the United States. A panel of expert advisors to U.S. health agencies will meet later this week to determine whether the pause should continue, with a decision expected as early as Friday. "My estimate is that we will continue to use it in some form," Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I do think that there will likely be some sort of warning or restriction or risk assessment." Scientists have yet to establish a direct link between the J&J vaccine and the unusual blood clots, which have also been identified among a tiny fraction of people who received AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine outside of the United States. It is not clear how long it would take to determine whether the vaccines cause such symptoms.