Dr. Lipman said that as the team studied his blood samples, the pieces began to fall into place and they realized they seemed to have the same problem they knew was happening in the UK and Europe after which patients received the AstraZeneca vaccine, especially in young women. They switched from heparin to another blood thinner and began following the advice of doctors in the UK who treated patients with AstraZeneca with a similar disorder.
Hoping for more information about the condition and any possible connection to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Dr. Lipman called an emergency number from the Food and Drug Administration. It was a weekend and he said the respondent told him that no one was available to help and that the line should be kept open for emergencies.
“I thought it was an emergency,” said Dr. Lipman. “He hung up.”
He called back to ask how to get to Janssen, which makes the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This information was not available and he said that the respondent also told him that the FDA could not provide advice on patient care.
FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Caccomo said in an email, “We will look into this further to make sure that doctors who turn to the FDA for assistance receive the help they are looking for.”
Dr. Lipman said the pharmacist at his hospital sent an online report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in early April, but that the agency did not contact him to inquire about the case until this week. The agency declined to comment if it contacted Dr. Lipman, a spokeswoman, Kristen Nordlund, said in an email.
At a meeting of a CDC advisory group Wednesday, Johnson & Johnson and Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, a security expert at the agency, presented both data about the young woman from Nevada. After the meeting, Nevada officials issued a statement saying the meeting was the first time they had heard of a case in their state – they had previously told the public that no cases had been reported – and asked “federal partners” why the state he had not been informed.
At the Nevada hospital, an interventional radiologist passed a tube through her blood vessels and continued into the young woman’s brain and used a device to aspirate the blood clots. Several clots formed later and he performed the procedure again.