100s Of J&J COVID Vaccines Sitting In Monmouth Co. Amid Pause

MONMOUTH COUNTY - Hundreds of single-dose COVID-19 vaccines from Johnson & Johnson are currently sitting in Monmouth County inventory as local officials await word for what to do with them amid a "pause" on J&J vaccinations.

New Jersey paused the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Tuesday due to blood-clot concerns following the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation. The CDC and FDA are now reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine.

The FDA reported that, as of Monday, more than 6.8 million doses of New Brunswick-based company's vaccine have been administered in the country. All New Jersey vaccination sites have been told to cancel or put on hold appointments for the J&J vaccine until further notice, according to Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. Read more: NJ Pauses Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine

The New Jersey Department of Health recently provided Johnson & Johnson vaccines to the Monmouth County Health Department (MCHD) with the directive to distribute them to underserved communities, a Monmouth County spokesperson told Patch in an email. The Johnson & Johnson vaccines were then distributed to partners throughout the county to schedule appointments and inoculate residents.

Since the statewide pause on J&J vaccines was issued Tuesday, hundreds of vaccines are now sitting unused in the county's inventory.

"Currently, the MCHD has an inventory of 775 Johnson & Johnson vaccines, which were received prior to this week," the county spokesperson said. "No additional Johnson & Johnson vaccines were provided to the MCHD this week. There are 100 unused doses that are being returned to the MCHD by community partners. The MCHD is awaiting further direction from the NJDOH as to what should be done with the Johnson & Johnson vaccines."

Monmouth County is also awaiting direction from the state regarding whether additional vaccines will be provided for any appointments that needed to be canceled by the providers, since the county has already scheduled all of the 2,500 allotted doses of Moderna vaccines for this week.

"We will work with all sites, as needed, to reschedule vaccination appointments," Persichilli said Tuesday.

About 200,000 of the 5 million people who have gotten at least one shot in New Jersey received Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, but Gov. Phil Murphy said the state's goal of fully vaccinating 4.7 million adults by the end of June is still "entirely achievable."

Murphy also said no one in New Jersey has reported suffering from a blood clot after getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

"No one who has received this vaccine should panic or worry," Murphy said on Tuesday.

At least three pharmacy chains announced that they will pause the distribution of the vaccine. That includes CVS and Wegmans, both of which have multiple vaccination sites in Monmouth County. Read more: NJ Pharmacies To Stop Using Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

Hackensack Meridian Health, the parent healthcare system of Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank and Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, told Patch it will be pausing Johnson & Johnson vaccinations in New Jersey "out of an abundance of caution."

A representative from CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold confirmed to Patch that it will be discontinuing the administration of the J&J vaccine as well.

Johnson & Johnson released a statement on the matter:

"The safety and well-being of the people who use our products is our number one priority. We are aware of an extremely rare disorder involving people with blood clots in combination with low platelets in a small number of individuals who have received our COVID-19 vaccine.....

"In addition, we have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities. We have made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe."

"We have been working closely with medical experts and health authorities, and we strongly support the open communication of this information to healthcare professionals and the public. The CDC and FDA have made information available about proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.

"The health authorities advise that people who have received our COVID-19 vaccine and develop a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider."

With reporting by Tom Davis.