Hackensack Meridian Won't Cancel Appointments After J&J Pause

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Hackensack Meridian Health will pause the administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, but said they won't have to cancel appointments at their 11 vaccination centers.

This includes at the Bergen County megasite at Meadowlands Race Track, officials said.

"For those who are scheduled to receive the J & J vaccine, the network is substituting the J & J product with either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine," officials said in a statement.

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 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 individuals after receiving the vaccine.

Both agencies recommended a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday.

Roughly 235,000 doses have been administered in the state, with none of those patients reporting any similar effects, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday.

The state issued guidance that put a pause on all Johnson & Johnson vaccinations in New Jersey on Tuesday.

"All New Jersey vaccination sites have been told to cancel or put on hold appointments for the J&J vaccine until further notice. For individuals scheduled to receive the J&J vaccine, the Department will work with all vaccination sites to make arrangements for the administration of an alternative two-dose vaccine. We will work with all sites, as needed, to reschedule vaccination appointments," said Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

Still, Murphy said this shouldn't impact the state's herd immunity timeline.

"Even with this pause, our overall goal of vaccination 4.7 million adult New Jerseyans remains not only in place, but entirely achievable," he said.

Read Hackensack Meridian's full statement below:

The New Jersey Department of Health, in response to a recommendation from federal health authorities, is pausing J & J vaccinations in the state out of an abundance of caution following reports of six adverse events. Hackensack Meridian Health is fully complying with this directive.

The J & J vaccines were paused today following reports in the U.S. of six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in women ages 18 to 48 out of nearly 7 million vaccines administered. Symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination.

Federal health authorities are investigating the cause of these extremely rare cases. The federal government is advising anyone who received the vaccine to report the following symptoms to your physician: severe headache, shortness of breath, abdominal pain and/or leg pain.

We are advising anyone who has received the J & J vaccine to discuss any concerns with their primary care physician. For those who are scheduled to receive the J & J vaccine, the network is substituting the J & J product with either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

We will continue to deliver the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. We remind the public that the vaccines play a vital role in helping to defeat COVID-19, along with social distancing and mask wearing. Vaccines are also highly effective against COVID-19 variants, which are on the rise throughout the nation.