Stamford Health Dept Recommends Resuming Use of J&J Vaccine

Information via the city of Stamford

STAMFORD, CT — Dr. Jennifer Calder, Stamford's director of health, and City Medical Advisor Dr. Henry Yoon released a joint statement Monday addressing the benefits of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) coronavirus vaccine.

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Earlier this month, city officials said use of the single-dose vaccine would be paused in Stamford following the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recent recommendation of a pause due to blood-clot concerns.

Below is the full statement released Monday by city health officials:

"The Department of Health is confident in its recommendation residents can use the J&J vaccine as a safe means of developing immunity to the COVID-19 virus.

On April 13, the CDC released a statement about the incidence of blood clots in patients who received the J&J vaccine. The safety data currently available suggests the risk of developing blood clots after being vaccinated with the J&J vaccine is very low — approximately 0.0001 percent or a one in a million chance.

While we know from other sources that this risk increases to approximately 21 percent — or 210,000 in a million chance — after infection with SARS CoV-2 virus ("COVID-19").

In addition to this recent safety data, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on April 23 recommended resuming the use of the J&J vaccine.

Therefore, we agree the benefits of the J&J vaccine greatly outweigh the risks.

Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine has been a needed addition to the COVID-19 response. A single-dose vaccine will assist in rapidly increasing vaccination coverage in Stamford by decreasing the number of missed second dose appointments and increasing the percentage of fully vaccinated persons in a shorter timeframe. We believe this will help to make herd immunity a real possibility in our city.

The Stamford Department of Health — in accordance with the recommendations from the state Department of Public Health — will resume offering the J&J vaccine at vaccination clinics in the near future.

The Department of Health is committed to adhering to all FDA, CDC and ACIP guidelines related to the administration of all vaccines including participating in all federally required adverse events reporting and will be transparent regarding the type of COVID-19 vaccine that is offered at each clinic.

The FDA continues to monitor all COVID-19 vaccines for safety. Residents should be assured all COVID-19 vaccines are safe. Protect your friends, your family and yourself by scheduling a vaccination appointment as soon as you can."