Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Paused In Orange County As Feds Suggest

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — The Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine is on pause as of Tuesday after several reports of blood clots in patients, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The Orange County Health Care agency stated they would be releasing a statement shortly on the dispensing of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This report will be updated when that statement is received.

Federal health agencies have recommended an immediate pause in the use of the single-dose shot after six U.S. recipients developed serious blood clots. Though over 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been distributed with "mild or no side effects," an overburden of caution has caused the pause."

According to a joint statement from the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the federal government is recommending an immediate pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine nationwide after the six U.S. recipients — all women between the ages of 18 and 48 — developed serious blood clots within two weeks of getting vaccinated.

One woman died and a second woman in Nebraska was hospitalized in critical condition.

"We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution," Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, said.

"This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.

This week, California will upgrade those eligible to receive the vaccine to those 16 and up, which could prove problematic without the doses of the Johnson & Johnson product.

In Orange County, the Providence Vaccine Clinics at Edwards Lifesciences was slated to dispense the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine.

Though Orange County and California state officials have not immediately said what this means for appointments at various vaccination sites around the county, it is expected that the dispensing of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will be paused, KNX radio reported Tuesday morning.

County health officials were anticipating supplies of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to increase in the coming weeks -- but now new questions could change plans.

According to the CDC, the blood clot, called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia).

All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 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."

The CDC will convene a meeting of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance.

Published reports quoted a Johnson & Johnson statement as saying, "At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events" and the company's vaccine. Johnson & Johnson says they will work closely with experts and regulators to assess the data and support the open communication of this information to healthcare professionals and the public.

This is a developing report and will be updated as more information is received.