Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & JohnsoniStock

The United States has suspended use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine after six women who received the shot developed blood clots, one of whom died.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the suspension of the use of the vaccine Tuesday, citing the "rare & severe type of blood clot.”

"Vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously," the FDA wrote on Twitter.

"Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare," the organization pointed out. "CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases."

"Until that process is complete, we are recommending this pause. This is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot," the FDA statement concluded.

The FDA will hold a press conference on the issue at 10 AM Eastern Standard time.

Approximately seven million Americans have received the one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

A similar concern has been raised with another coronavirus vaccine, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine which has been primarily used in Europe. Last week, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) ruled that the AstraZeneca vaccine was found to have caused rare blood clots.

In response to the announcement, British authorities have decided to limit administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine to people over the age of 30 and to provide an alternative vaccine to younger people.

Numerous countries in Europe have suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of rare but serious blood clots developing in the brains of several dozen patients.

Israel has not been using the AstraZeneca vaccine in its vaccination drive, instead using the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which have a higher rate of effectiveness and have not been linked to serious side effects. The United States has also mostly relied on the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines/