KITTS HILL — A vaccination clinic scheduled for next Tuesday has been put on pause after federal health officials recommended that clinics stop using the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine while it is being investigated after reports that six women developed blood clots after getting the vaccine.
The Kitts Hill clinic was being done at no cost by the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Community Health Programs.
Sherri Oliver, executive director of Ohio University Community Health Programs, said on Tuesday morning that they were working with the Ohio Department of Health on what they would be doing with clinics moving forward.
“We’ve canceled our clinics, temporarily, for this week,” she said. “And we are essentially putting a pause on our clinics to see what the Ohio Department of Health recommends.”
Oliver said they are reaching out to clients who were scheduled to be vaccinated and most likely would reschedule the Kitts Hill clinic after they have more information and guidance.
As more information on the clinic becomes available, The Ironton Tribune will update the story.
The Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine said the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have paused distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The FDA/CDC announcement came after the identification of a rare and severe blood-clotting disorder. These symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination and in only six individuals out of the more than six million people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the U.S.
Individuals who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination and develop symptoms such as severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, shortness of breath, blurry vision or nausea should immediately contact a health care provider or their local health department. Muscle aches, fever, arm soreness and other symptoms are common after any COVID-19 vaccine and are not a cause for concern. Visit the CDC website for information about common COVID-19 side effects.
There are no reports of these rare side effects with the other available COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna). The CDC advises that those who have appointments to receive a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine keep those appointments, and that those who were scheduled to receive a Johnson & Johnson vaccine instead reschedule to receive a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
On Tuesday morning, Gov. Mike DeWine, Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud and Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D., advised all Ohio vaccine providers to temporarily pause using the Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) vaccine.
This is in response to a statement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommending a pause in the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine following extremely rare blood-clotting events of six people in the U.S. after receiving the vaccine.
According to the Associated Press, more than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been given in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects. The reports appear similar to a rare, unusual type of clotting disorder that European authorities say is possibly linked to another COVID-19 vaccine not yet cleared in the U.S., from AstraZeneca.