Anne Arundel Pauses Use Of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

ANNAPOLIS, MD — After federal authorities paused the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday morning, Anne Arundel County officials said they, too, will stop administering the one-dose shot while it is reviewed.

The Anne Arundel County Health Department confirmed the pause for the J&J vaccine during the county’s weekly press conference. Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, county health officer, said the county will stop administering the shot, the Capital Gazette reported.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier in the day recommended a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of blood-clot concerns.

"We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution," Dr. Peter Marks of the FDA and Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said in a joint statement.

Plans to open a mass vaccination site at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis have made allowances for the Johnson & Johnson pause, so it is unlikely the site's opening on Thursday will be affected, Kalyanaraman said.

But the health department is seeking more information about the implications.

As of Monday, more than 6.8 million doses of the single-dose vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to the FDA.

The Maryland Department of Health reports 164,862 people have received the J&J vaccine in Maryland as of Monday.

"Based on the federal government's recommendation and out of an abundance of caution, the Maryland Department of Health directs all Maryland COVID-19 vaccine providers to pause the administration of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines until further federal guidance is issued," the Maryland Department of Health said in a statement Tuesday morning. "Providers should continue to maintain their supplies of Johnson & Johnson vaccines in a manner that prevents wastage."

Anne Arundel County residents who need assistance getting to a county COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic may call 410-222-3663 (TTY 7-1-1) on weekdays, the county health department said.

Residents may schedule a vaccination appointment online. Check the Department of Health Website for more information on vaccine eligibility and rollout.

At least three pharmacies — Wegmans, CVS and Walagreens — announced they will pause the distribution of the vaccine and follow the recommendations of the CDC & FDA.

Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said the pause would likely last for only a matter of days.

How the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Works

There are three vaccines currently available in the United States — Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.

Both Pfizer and Moderna deliver mRNA — a genetic recipe that teaches your body how to build the spike protein found on the surface of the coronavirus. If the real virus enters the body, your immune system will recognize it and know how to fight it.

Johnson & Johnson, however, uses a different technology to prime the body to fight against COVID-19. Instead of mRNA, it utilizes an adenovirus — a common cold virus that cannot replicate and make a person sick once it enters the cells.

Ultimately, the cold virus will deliver the coronavirus-fighting genetic blueprint into the cells and teach the immune system how to recognize the spike protein found on the surface of the coronavirus.

Adenovirus vaccines can be refrigerated for up to three months at 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Clinical trials showed the J&J vaccine as being less effective against the virus compared with the vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer. The company said the vaccine has a 72 percent efficacy rate among trial participants in the U.S., but is about 85 percent effective against the most severe forms of the virus. Moderna and Pfizer tout efficacy rates at or near 95 percent.

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is for people 18 years old and up.

"Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare," Marks and Schuchat said in the joint statement from the FDA and CDC. "Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered."

For those who got the vaccine more than a month ago, Schuchat reported the risk was "very low."

Those who received the J&J shot in the last couple of weeks should "look for any symptoms" such as "severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath," Schuchat said, beyond the potential flu-like symptoms that many vaccine recipients may experience, and contact their health care providers.

The move to pause use of the vaccine comes weeks after the FDA halted production of the J&J vaccine at a Baltimore facility run by Emergent BioSolutions following a mix-up in ingredients. However, the company said none of the 15 million doses that had been tainted were ever shipped out from the plant.

Related: Feds Pause Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine In MD, Across US

This story includes reporting from Patch Editors Elizabeth Janney, Alessia Grunberger and Tom Davis.