Last checked at 
(Adds first case of blood clot reported after inoculation with
AstraZeneca vaccine)
By Steve Scherer and David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, April 13 (Reuters) - Canada said on Tuesday it was
talking to Johnson & Johnson about reports that its
COVID-19 vaccine might cause rare blood clots, while Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau said a surge in dangerous virus variants
could threaten progress made so far.
U.S. federal health agencies on Tuesday recommended pausing
the use of the J&J vaccine for at least a few days after six
women under age 50 developed blood clots after receiving the
shot.
Health Canada, the federal health ministry, said it was
working with the manufacturer, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration and other international regulators.
"Health Canada has asked Janssen to provide information on
any cases of these rare blood clotting events," it said in a
tweet, referring to J&J's pharmaceuticals unit. Canada has
approved the vaccine but deliveries are not due to start until
the end of April.
Separately, Canada said it had recorded its first case of
the rare blood clot with low platelets condition after someone
received the AstraZeneca Plc COVID-19 shot.
The person is recovering, the health ministry said. Canada
has limited the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to those above
age 55 over concerns about the rare reaction.
The news is the latest potential challenge for an
inoculation effort that is already dragging.
Canada is due to import enough doses to ensure every person
can receive a shot by the end of June, but the spread of new
virus variants risks overtaking the pace of vaccination.
"More contagious and dangerous variants are spreading and
threatening the progress we've made," Trudeau told a briefing,
saying the situation was extremely serious as the number of
cases jumps and the healthcare system struggles to respond.
Chief public health officer Theresa Tam said new cases had
risen by 33% over the last week. The number of daily cases is
now over 8,100, about the same as during the peak of the second
wave earlier this year.
(Reporting by Steve Scherer and David Ljunggren; Editing by
Bill Berkrot and Mark Potter)
