The Berrien County Health Department has issued a COVID-19 Vaccination update message today indicating that they are suspending use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Michigan’s Great Southwest until further notice.
Health Department officials say that today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a joint recommendation to pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen (J&J) vaccine, and they will abide by that recommendation.
The Health Department says, “Per these recommendations, the Berrien County Health Department will not be providing the J&J vaccine until further notice. The previously planned J&J clinic on Thursday, April 15th will be switched to use the Moderna vaccine with a second dose return date of Thursday, May 13th. All individuals with scheduled appointments for this week’s clinic will be contacted and notified of the change in vaccine product being used.”
More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S. to date. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of an extremely rare type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) tomorrow, Wednesday, April 14th to further review those cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, the Berrien County Health Department will pause in the use of the vaccine out of an abundance of caution, and will release more information about future J&J clinics as it becomes available.
Nicki Britten, Health Officer at the Berrien County Health Department says, “Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare, and there have not been any reported adverse events reported in Berrien County after the administration of the J&J vaccine,” and adds, “COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for all vaccine providers, and we are assured that the data is being reviewed swiftly by the experts.”
BCHD will continue to provide the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination products at clinics as previously scheduled, and reports they have open scheduling with appointment availability online at http://www.bchdmi.org/COVID19; residents who need assistance in scheduling an appointment can call 1.800.815.5485.
