Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine recipient in Nevada undergoes 3 brain surgeries following jab: report

A Nevada woman who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has reportedly undergone three brain surgeries to repair blood clots related to the shot. 

Emma Burkey, 18, reportedly fell ill about a week after she received the shot on April 1, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, citing a family spokesperson, reported. 

Burkey, according to family spokesperson Bret Johnson, suffered seizures and was later placed in an induced coma and on a respirator, though the 18-year-old has since improved — albeit slowly — and is now awake and off the respirator. 

She still requires a tracheostomy tube, which has impacted her ability to speak. However, her family said she is able to mouth some words and will blink to communicate. 

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“She is improving slowly,” Johnson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The word we got from her parents last night was ‘slowly, slowly slowly.’”

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recommended pause on the J&J COVID-19 vaccine after six cases of a rare, severe blood clot were reported amid a backdrop of over 6.8 million recipients. 

The cases under the CDC committee’s review involve six females between ages 18 and 48, whose serious adverse events occurred within six to 13 days of vaccination. Most of them experienced headaches, and one of the women died while another is in critical condition.

A seventh case has since come to light, though this instance did not occur in the brain as the other six did. 

There have been no such reported cases of the rare but serious clotting issue called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) with low platelet count in nearly 200 million vaccinations between Moderna and Pfizer.

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“If you follow the national news, the J&J vaccine has been put on hold because of these rare cases.  Unfortunately, Emma is the ‘one in a million here,” reads a GoFundMe in the woman’s name.  

Burkey’s parents, Russ and Kathy, “have been at Emma’s side since this all began,” it continues.  “Her older brother, Cooper is holding down the household while they are all in southern California” where the 18-year-old is being treated at Loma Linda Hospital’s special neural treatment unit. 

A CDC committee did not hold a vote regarding guidance on the jab but is expected to do so on Friday. 

Fox News’ Kayla Rivas contributed to this report.