Federal and state agencies are asking COVID-19 vaccination clinics to pause using a vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson pending investigation into a potentially dangerous side effect.
What side effects are being investigated?
Blood clots
What is the prevalence of side effects in those who have been vaccinated?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating unusual clots in six women that occurred six to 13 days after vaccination. The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48.
What does this mean for people who already have received the J&J vaccine?
The CDC and FDA recommend that people who were given the J&J vaccine who are experiencing severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after receiving the shot contact their health care provider.
Does this mean the vaccine is unsafe?
More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects.
What will happen to vaccine clinics that already were scheduled to administer the J&J vaccine?
U.S. federal distribution channels, including mass vaccination sites, will pause the use of the one-dose J&J shot, and states and other providers are expected to follow. The other two authorized vaccines, from Moderna and Pfizer, make up the vast share of COVID-19 shots administered in the U.S. and are not affected by the pause. An upcoming mass vaccination clinic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had planned on using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but will switch to the two-dose Moderna vaccine.
Sources: Associated Press, Indiana State Department of Health
