Poland Receives 1st Batch Of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine - Official

Poland Receives 1st Batch of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine - Official

He first batch of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has been delivered to Poland, Michal Kuczmierowski, the head of the government's Agency for Strategic Reserves (RARS), said on Wednesday

WARSAW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th April, 2021) The first batch of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has been delivered to Poland, Michal Kuczmierowski, the head of the government's Agency for Strategic Reserves (RARS), said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the US food and Drug Administration recommended suspending the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of precaution after six recipients � women between the ages of 18 and 48 � developed a rare blood-clotting disorder. The symptoms occurred between 6-13 days after vaccination. The US pharmaceutical company has since decided to delay its planned vaccine rollout in Europe. In the meantime, Poland's health ministry said that it would follow the decisions and recommendations of the EU regulator when asked what decision will be taken on the vaccine use.

"According to the plan, some 120,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine arrived in Poland," Kuczmierowski told reporters.

Given that the vaccine is a one-shot regimen, it is planned to be used by mobile teams to immunized those who cannot attend vaccination centers, including bedridden patients.

Commenting on the vaccine's safety, Athena Linos, a professor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical school, told Sputnik that the gender and age of recipients should be taken into account while administering the drug.

"It is necessary to take note of the age and gender of the people who will be vaccinated as this [side effect] appears to be related to the use of birth control pills," Linos said.

The specialist believes that Greece � set to roll out the vaccine on April 19 � should revise the use of the Johnson & Johnson drug, noting that women aged 40 and younger should receive a coronavirus vaccine developed by other drugmakers.