S&P 500 opened flat as experts analyse Covid-19 vaccine
Health agencies in America have called for the roll-out of the Johnson and Johnson coronavirus vaccine to be paused while they investigate reports of blood clots.
Despite the news the S&P 500 opened flat on Tuesday following days of solid gains on the US index.
The S&P 500 opened higher by 0.05%, at 4,130.10, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.38%, to 13,902.45, at the opening bell.
The Centers for Disease control and Prevention and the Food and dRUG administration released a joint statement on Tuesday which said they were looking into six reported cases in the US of “rare and severe” blood clots in people who had received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
The individuals concerned were all women between the ages of 18 and 48, and they developed the symptoms between 6 to 13 days after the being vaccinated.
Just under 7m of the doses have been administered throughout the US.
The CDC is having a meeting of its advisory committee on immunisation practices on Wednesday, where it will review the cases, while the FDA will also investigate the nature of the blood clots.
“Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” they said, while Johnson and Johnson confirmed it is continuing to analyse the relevant data alongside the relevant health bodies.
“We are aware that thromboembolic events including those with thrombocytopenia have been reported with Covid-19 vaccines. At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events and the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine,” it said.
