Home covid PHMDC, Boys and Girls Clubs pause Johnson & Johnson vaccines

PHMDC, Boys and Girls Clubs pause Johnson & Johnson vaccines

0
A vaccine is administered at a UW Health clinic last month.

Based on a recommendation from the Federal Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Madison & Dane County (PHMDC) and the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County (BGCDC) are temporarily pausing the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

BGCDC CEO Michael Johnson posted on Facebook Tuesday that the club had scheduled a vaccine clinic this Saturday at its Taft Street location, and would decide Friday morning whether or not to proceed.

The federal government reported that about one in 1.13 million people who’ve been given the Johnson and Johnson vaccine developed a dangerous blood clot, and that administration of the vaccine should be paused so that health care providers could be educated in how to deal with that side effect.

“Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered,” the FDA wrote in a Twitter thread. “CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, we are recommending this pause. This is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.”

“These adverse events appear to be extremely rare and are currently only documented in six cases out of about 7 million vaccines given, but the pause shows how seriously vaccine safety is taken,” PHMDC wrote in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, anyone who has received the J&J vaccine should monitor for the following symptoms for 3 weeks after receiving the vaccine: severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath.”
There are currently no restrictions on either the Pfizer nor the Moderna two-dose vaccines.