S.A. providers suspend administering J&J vaccine
Halt called after 6 suffered blood clot disorder following shot
Texas officials are asking health care providers to stop administering Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine while federal officials investigate an extremely rare blood clotting disorder experienced by six recipients in the U.S. The announcement came hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended a pause in usage of the vaccine early Tuesday.
The blood clotting disorder, experienced by six women between the ages of 18 and 48, is not directly linked to the J&J shot. But all of the recipients developed the illness within two weeks of receiving a dose.
“Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare and are being further evaluated to ensure vaccine safety,” the Texas Department of State Health Services said. “People who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.”
Nearly 7 million people in the United States have received the J&J shot — a small fraction of overall COVID-19 vaccinations. The six cases of the clotting disorder represent 0.0001 percent of all J&J vaccine recipients in the U.S.
None of the six reported cases was in Texas, where more than 500,000 people have received the J&J vaccine.
Still, the pause is likely
to cause a hiccup in vaccination efforts in Texas, which as of Tuesday had fully vaccinated 20 percent of its population, one of the lowest per-capita vaccination rates in the country.
Experts expressed concern that news of the blood clotting disorder could encourage vaccine skepticism, which remains high in many parts of the country, including in rural Texas counties.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was key to the Biden administration’s effort to ramp up vaccinations in coming months because it requires just one dose. In contrast, the two other Fda-authorized vaccines, made by Pfizer-biontech and Moderna, each require two shots administered several weeks apart.
J&J doses accounted for most of the vaccines sent this week to Texas’ three vaccine megasites operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Some 42,000 doses were sent to NRG Stadium in Houston, and 21,000 doses were each sent to AT&T Stadium in Arlington and Fair Park in Dallas. San Antonio does not have a megasite.
“Effective immediately, FEMA will stop administering this vaccine at our pilot community vaccination clinics, as well as via our mobile vaccine units,” said acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton. “We are working with our state partners to determine the path forward and find alternative vaccine options for these sites.”
San Antonio’s Metropolitan Health District received 7,000 J&J doses over the last two weeks and has administered 4,668 of them — about two-thirds. The agency said it will hold on to the remaining doses while it awaits further guidance from state and federal health officials.
Officials of UT Health San Antonio and University Health, Bexar County’s public hospital system, said they will stop administering J&J shots, but that vaccination appointments will continue as scheduled using other vaccines.
Wellmed, which operates vaccination sites around San Antonio, received 600 J&J doses this week. It said people with vaccination appointments will be given the Moderna vaccine instead. The majority of shots administered at the Wellmed sites have been either the Moderna or the Pfizer-biontech vaccine.
J&J doses also were sent to 15 smaller providers in the city. Some 1,500 were distributed to Conviva clinics, 600 to Trinity University, 600 to University of the Incarnate Word and 100 to Fresenius dialysis clinics.
UIW held a vaccination clinic on Tuesday at a church on the East Side, intending to administer doses of the J&J vaccine. Upon learning that its use had been suspended, university officials reached out to Metro Health and obtained doses of Pfizer-biontech to use instead.
To date, the J&J vaccine has played a relatively small role in vaccination efforts in Bexar County. More than 600,000 residents have received doses of Pfizer-biontech or Moderna. As of Tuesday, just 25,512 had been given the J&J vaccine.
“If you got the J&J shot more than two weeks ago, you don’t have to be concerned based on what we know right now,” said Dr. Junda Woo, Metro Health’s medical director. “Don’t fret too much because we know that this is exceedingly rare.”
Woo said those who received the J&J vaccine more recently should watch for symptoms such as a sudden headache or pains in the chest, abdomen or legs. Those who experience such symptoms should contact a doctor, she said.
The CDC said the six women who became ill were diagnosed with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), along with low levels of blood platelets.
Dr. George Williams, associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Mcgovern Medical School at Uthealth, said CVST is a brain-based blood clot with symptoms similar to those of a stroke. The clot affects the brain’s ability to drain blood, which can lead to brain swelling and a possible hemorrhage.
“It’s a blood clot occurring in the brain, but it’s not a stroke,” Williams said. “The blood is trying to leave the brain, but the exits are blocked.”
The CDC and FDA will review possible connections between the vaccine and the clotting disorder and determine whether to permit continued use of the J&J vaccine. The FDA granted an emergency use authorization for the vaccine on Feb. 27.