Woman With Rare J&J Vaccine Blood Clot Is Hospitalized In NJ

NEW JERSEY — A woman hospitalized in New Jersey is among the six in 6.8 million who suffered blood clots after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine, state health officials confirmed on Thursday.

One of the six cases of women discussed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Wednesday panel discussion on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a Pennsylvania resident who was hospitalized in New Jersey, the state Department of Health confirmed.

The woman is 26-years-old and is overweight, according to a presentation during the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday. The woman’s initial symptom was a severe headache, which came a week after she received the shot, according to the presentation.

The woman spent a week to 10 days in the hospital, with blood tests showing that the number of platelets in her blood was low and diagnostic scans showed that she had several blood clots in major blood vessels in her brain, abdomen and lungs, according to the presentation.

All six of the individuals who suffered the blood clots are women between 18 and 48, officials said.

The Federal Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control recommended a pause on the administration of the single-dose vaccine Tuesday due to the occurrences. They’re currently investigating before recommending next steps.

The CDC panel said on Wednesday that it will need at least another week before making a decision on Johnson & Johnson's vaccine. Read more: More Time Needed On NJ Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine: CDC Panel

Gov. Phil Murphy said on Wednesday that the stoppage of Johnson & Johnson immunizations will impact COVID vaccines while cases continue to remain high. Read more: NJ Warns Against 'Panic' Over COVID Vaccines, Rising Cases

"We all together will react well, and figure out this minor setback, and get us back on track, and get us to the point that we know we want to get to," Murphy said. "And secondly, getting 4.7 million adult New Jerseyans vaccinated by the end of June. We are committed to both."

The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been administered to more than 200,000 New Jerseyans thus far. The bulk of those are the state's teachers and school employees who were prioritized in the rollout last month.