CDC: Dozens of adverse reactions caused by anxiety, not Johnson & Johnson vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded that dozens of Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients experienced adverse physical reactions because of anxiety and not the vaccine itself, according to a report published Friday.

The agency investigated clusters of anxiety-related events, with a total 64 incidents out of 8,624 doses administered, reported to the CDC by five mass vaccination sites across five different states.

Researchers said that these anxiety-related cases “can occur after any vaccination” if a person has a physical reaction within 15 minutes of inoculation due to their worries about getting the shot.

The incidents were reported between April 7 and 9, about five weeks after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its emergency authorization approval for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

These anxiety-related reactions are not related to the rare cases of blood clots that led the CDC and FDA to recommend pausing administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine across the country. The anxiety-related cases occurred before the pause, which ended last week.