Updated: Official CDC Guidance on VITT
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on April 23, 2021 issued updated guidance regarding the Emergency Use Authorization of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine to Prevent COVID-19. The fact sheet for health care providers administering vaccine included guidance on thrombosis with thrombocytopenia, excerpted here:
Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia1
Reports of adverse events following use of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine under emergency use authorization suggest an increased risk of thrombosis involving the cerebral venous sinuses and other sites (including but not limited to the large blood vessels of the abdomen and the veins of the lower extremities) combined with thrombocytopenia and with onset of symptoms approximately one to two weeks after vaccination. Most cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia reported following the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine have occurred in females ages 18 through 49 years; some have been fatal. The clinical course of these events shares features with autoimmune heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. In individuals with suspected thrombosis with thrombocytopenia following the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine, the use of heparin may be harmful and alternative treatments may be needed. Consultation with hematology specialists is strongly recommended. The American Society of Hematology has published considerations relevant to the diagnosis and treatment of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia following the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine (https://www.hematology.org/covid-19/vaccine-induced-immune-thrombotic-thrombocytopenia). (see Full EUA Prescribing Information).
- 1. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fact Sheet For Health Care Providers Administering Vaccine (Vaccination Providers). Emergency Use Authorization of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine to Prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Issued April 23, 2021. Fact Sheet available here
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