BUFFALO, N.Y. — ​A neurosurgeon at UB is weighing in on the decision to pause distribution of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr. Elad Levy sees only about six patients with Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis, or CVST, the same condition cause officials to pause the vaccine.

Typically, risk factors for this type of clotting including dehydration, smoking and some birth control pills, as well as an underlying clotting disorder and a decreased platelet county.

The most typical symptoms are severe and progressing headaches with fatigue.

If caught early, Levy says they can be treated with medication, and even removed. However, the clots can lead to stroke or hemorrhaging, which can be fatal.

The clots were found in six women, killing one and leaving another in critical condition, all 10-13 days after being vaccinated.

Though the cases are quite literally one in a million, a conclusion has to be reached.

“The pause is important to ask the question, is it due to the vaccine? Is it triggered by the vaccine? Is there no association with the vaccine? I think right now asking the question and finding scientific answers is important without jumping the conclusions,” DR. Levy, UB Neurosurgery profession and chair, said.

Levy added that everyone should take comfort in the scrutiny the vaccine has faced and that is not being taken lightly.

With that said, he is vaccinated, as is his wife and parents, and says, if you are eligible, you should be too.