LAWRENCE – Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health — following recommendations of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, CDC and FDA — will pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine. The federal agencies are investigating reports of six recipients in the United States who developed a rare disorder involving blood clots within about two weeks of vaccination. No known cases have been reported in Kansas.
To date, this appears to be affecting six people in the nearly seven million doses administered total, according to KDHE.
In Douglas County, roughly 1,300 doses of Johnson & Johnson have been administered through LDCPH’s allotment either given to providers or at smaller clinics in recent weeks, including at the Lied Center of Kansas and Holcom Recreation Center last Saturday through a KDHE grant. Individual pharmacies and providers could have received their own allocations of J&J doses as well.
Douglas County Unified Command partners are currently exploring using Pfizer doses for smaller clinics to help provide open and easy access through a variety of clinic types to reach as many in our community as possible. As of Tuesday, 9,419 Moderna first doses and 38,492 Pfizer first doses have been administered in Douglas County.
“All of our clinics at the fairgrounds the next two weeks will administer Pfizer doses, as we have primarily at these events since late January. This will not affect vaccine availability there,” said Director of Informatics Sonia Jordan. “We have no planned Johnson & Johnson clinics at this time, so we are at a good place for pausing and waiting for additional guidance that CDC, FDA and KDHE can provide on this. As it is important to administer the vaccines right now, it is critical to ensure those vaccines are safe.”
KDHE will review findings from the federal government and give further guidance to providers.
Typical reported side effects of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine include
- Pain, redness of the skin and swelling near the injection site.
- General side effects like headache, feeling very tired, muscle aches, nausea and fever.
Anyone who believes they are experiencing stroke-like symptoms, such as numbness or tingling in limbs, slurred speech, inability to talk or stand should seek immediate treatment by calling 911 or going to the nearest emergency department. Anyone with concerns can also contact their healthcare provider. For anyone without a primary healthcare provider, you can view this LMH Health map to locate one near you.
Here is the joint statement from CDC and FDA issued Tuesday morning:
As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.
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 a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution. This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.
Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously. People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider. Health care providers are asked to report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System at https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html.
More information about Douglas County COVID-19 response and recovery efforts can visit douglascountyks.org/coronavirus.