Wisconsin DHS: Pause Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine

WISCONSIN— Wisconsin Health officials issued a "pause" on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine distribution on Tuesday, following a recommendation from federal officials.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Karen Timberlake said “We are pausing administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of an abundance of caution. At this time, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. Vaccine providers should not administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at this time, and should hold on to the vaccine until federal review has been completed.”

All Wisconsin vaccine providers have been advised to temporarily stop administering the vaccine. The decision was made after the CDC and FDA announced they were investigating extremely rare blood-clotting events of six people in the U.S. after receiving the vaccine.

At least 6.8 million doses of the vaccine have already been administered in the U.S., the FDA said. Only six blood-clotting cases have been reported in connection to the vaccine, making the events extremely rare.

Read more: Feds Say Pause Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine

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

Both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected to hold a news conference on the situation on Tuesday. The CDC is also convening a meeting of its Advisory Committee On Immunization Practices on Wednesday to review the six cases.

Wisconsin was expecting 10,200 does of the vaccine for the week of April 12.

This is a developing story. Patch will have more information as it comes in.