European regulator probes possible link between blood clots and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

The European Union's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, announced Friday it is reviewing reports of blood clots in people who received Johnson & Johnson's COVID vaccine.

"Four serious cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets have been reported post-vaccination with COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen. One case occurred in a clinical trial, and three cases occurred during the vaccine rollout in the USA. One of them was fatal,” the EMA said in a statement, according to The Epoch Times.

Janssen is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, which says it's providing data to regulators and working with them to learn what has caused the blood clots.

"At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events and the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine," the company said in an emailed statement to The Guardian.

The EMA says it's looking into whether any regulatory action was needed against the pharmaceutical companies but has not reported when it investigation will be completed.

The type of blood clots found in those who took the vaccine is called capillary leak syndrome and is a condition in which blood leaks from small blood vessels into the body's muscles and cavity, often causing swelling and drops in blood pressure.

A COVID vaccine by AstraZeneca was also recently reported to have caused blood clots in several recipients. The EMA is also investigating those cases.