Colorado Pauses Use Of Johnson & Johnson Coronavirus Vaccine

COLORADO — Colorado paused the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday after recommendations from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Our state is set to receive 9,700 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, but the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and Colorado Joint Vaccine Task Force told providers to pause use of the vaccine out of an "abundance of caution" over rare blood clot cases.

The FDA reported that, as of Monday, more than 6.8 million doses of the company's vaccine had been administered in the U.S. The CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in people after they received the vaccine.

The news comes after hundreds of people were turned away from the COVID-19 vaccination clinic Wednesday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Public health officials decided to pause vaccinations at the site out of an "abundance of caution" after 11 people reported adverse reactions to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Don't miss the latest coronavirus updates from health and government officials in Denver, Boulder, Arvada, Lakewood and Littleton. Sign up for free Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily.

"These adverse events appear to be extremely rare," Colorado public health officials said in a news release. "Individuals who received the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine more than a month ago are at very low risk of serious side effects."

Anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine within the last three weeks and develops a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath should contact their health care provider, Colorado public health officials said.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up only a small portion of Colorado’s weekly vaccine allocation. The state is set to receive 280,000 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines this week, compared to only 9,700 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, public health officials said.

"Anyone scheduled to receive the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine will either receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine instead, or the vaccine provider will contact them to reschedule their appointment once FDA and CDC release additional information," the state's news release read.

The CDC will convene a meeting of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to further review the six blood clot cases and assess their potential significance. The FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases.

"Until that process is complete, we are recommending this pause," the FDA said. "This is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot."

The CDC and FDA also issued a joint statement from the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC.

A type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets, the statement said.

All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination, according to the statement.

"COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously," the statement said.

Health care providers are asked to report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System at CDC and FDA.

Read also: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Pause: 6 Things To Know

Patch Editor Tom Davis contributed to this report.