Paterson halts giving Johnson & Johnson vaccine, will resume vaccination with Moderna tomorrow
By Jayed Rahman
Published: April 13, 2021
After getting a notice to pause giving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of concerns over blood clots in small number of recipients, municipal officials cancelled all primary dose vaccinations at the International High School site on Tuesday morning.
All appointments and walk-in hours were cancelled for today, according to the city. Second dose appointments are still being honored. Nurses continue to administer the second dose shots at the vaccination site.
Officials said vaccinations at the high school will resume on Wednesday with the two-dose Moderna vaccine beginning at 9 a.m.
“Out of an abundance of caution and following the guidance of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the New Jersey Department of Health this morning paused the administration of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine across all vaccination sites in the state,” said New Jersey health commissioner Judith Persichilli in a statement.
Six people, out of the 7 million J&J vaccine administered, suffered rare blood clots. Federal health authorities are reviewing data from the six cases — six women recipients between the age of 18 and 48 suffered blood clots.
Symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after they received the vaccine.
“According to the FDA and CDC, individuals who have received the vaccine and develop abdominal pain, leg pain, shortness of breath, severe headache or other unusual symptoms within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider,” said Persichilli.
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