Slovenia set to ban Janssen vaccine after woman's death

Janssen COVID-19 vaccine

Slovenia said on Tuesday it may ban Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) Janssen COVID-19 vaccine except when people request it, after concluding a young woman's death was linked to the shot.

Slovenia temporarily suspended the Janssen vaccine, one of several it was using, after the death of the woman who, a neurologist said at the time, had developed blood clots and bleeding in the brain.

"A commission established to examine the case of the death unanimously concluded that the tragic outcome was related to the vaccine," commission member Zoran Simonovic was quoted as saying by the national STA news agency on Tuesday.

Simonovic said the woman developed thrombosis after receiving the vaccine.

"There is no greater priority than the safety and well-being of the people we serve, and we carefully review reports of adverse events in individuals receiving our medicines or vaccines," Johnson & Johnson said in a response to Reuters' request for a comment.

"Any report about an individual receiving our COVID-19 vaccine and our assessment of that report is shared with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other appropriate health authorities," it added.

Health Minister Janez Poklukar told reporters he would propose prohibiting the vaccine except for cases where an individual specifically requires it.

Reporting by Igor Ilic; Editing by Barbara Lewis

SOURCE: REUTERS