Yavapai County health officials: Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine appointments ‘postponed’
Arizona follows feds in pause of J&J vaccine due to blood clot reports

This April 7, 2021, photo shows a box containing doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA and CDC are recommending a “pause” in using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. The state of Arizona, including Yavapai County, are following suit. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

This April 7, 2021, photo shows a box containing doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA and CDC are recommending a “pause” in using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. The state of Arizona, including Yavapai County, are following suit. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

Arizona health officials urged a halt Tuesday to the administering of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine following reports it could lead to rare but potentially dangerous blood clots.

Yavapai County spokesperson David McAtee confirmed to the Courier on Tuesday, April 13, that 12 providers in the county have “been instructed to postpone” all appointments.

Yavapai County Community Health Services Director Leslie Horton added that many Johnson & Johnson vaccine events are on hold, at least until the federal government is satisfied with its inquiry.

“If you have an appointment for, or plan to attend an upcoming event providing a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, due to this pause in use, events and appointments will either be postponed or canceled,” Horton said in a statement, adding that residents can visit yavapai.us.chs to find other opportunities to receive the Moderna vaccine during this pause.

“We will provide updates as we receive them,” Horton said Tuesday.

Yavapai County has distributed 132,706 vaccines with 55,744 of them being second shots or are now fully vaccinated. The COVID-19 test numbers can be found online at yavapai.us/chs.

BLOOD CLOT INVESTIGATION

Arizona Department of Public Health Services said it was yielding to the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration (CDC) to put a pause on distributing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The federal agencies called for a pause in using the vaccine until an investigation could be conducted into six cases where clots developed. The unusual clots have occurred six to 13 days post-vaccination.

The FDA commissioner said she expected the pause to last a matter of days.

A joint news release from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the CDC said as of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine have been administer ed in the U.S.

“We 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),” the news release stated. “All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred six 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.”

STATE

More than 226,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been allocated to Arizona. Roughly 122,000 have been given, according to state health officials.

Meanwhile, Arizona health officials also reported Tuesday another 610 confirmed cases and 19 related deaths. Hospitalizations because of COVID-19 in the state went up slightly from the previous day to 565. The number of people in ICUs remained about the same at 150.

Since the pandemic, Arizona has seen 850,846 cases and 17,105 deaths in total.

NOW WHAT?

I got the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Now what?

Don’t panic. U.S. health officials on Tuesday recommended pausing vaccinations with J&J’s shot as they look into reports of six clots out of nearly seven million doses given in the country.

Health officials say to be vigilant, but to remember that reports of blood clots that may be associated with J&J’s single-dose vaccine are exceedingly rare.

“It’s less than one in a million,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease specialist.

Common side effects after getting a COVID-19 vaccine can include arm pain and normal flu-like symptoms for a couple days afterward. Those aren’t pleasant, but they aren’t what officials are concerned about.

Instead, be on the lookout for different, more severe symptoms associated with the clots, particularly between one and three weeks after the shot. Those include severe headache, backache, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, leg swelling, tiny red spots on the skin or bruising.

If those symptoms show up, seek medical treatment right away. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued adviceto help doctors spot these rare clots and safely treat them.

“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,” the news release stated.


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