Publix, Winn-Dixie, CVS and Walgreens in Florida adjust plans after shot is halted.

COVID-19 vaccination sites across South Florida were forced to alter plans Tuesday after the unexpected news that the Johnson & Johnson single-dose shots have been linked to blood-clot concerns.

Major providers such as Publix, Winn-Dixie, CVS and Walgreens all announced they suspended the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, due to the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the Food and Drug Administration. The chains advised they would schedule appointments using doses from other manufacturers wherever possible.

Before the U.S. government’s announcement, a federally supported site at Miami Dade College’s North Campus had been providing thousands of the Johnson & Johnson shots per day. But now people looking for first doses were being redirected to sites at Hard Rock Stadium and Marlins Stadium, which are giving out first doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

Simeen Hussain, 44, had dropped off her father for his second dose of Pfizer at the North Miami site about 1 p.m. She had originally been planning to get her first shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on the same day.

“I wanted to get one shot and get it over with,” she said, now hoping for a first dose of Pfizer instead. “I guess I’ll have to take another day and go somewhere else.”

The CDC and FDA guidance recommended a “pause” in the vaccine, noting an investigation of clots in six women that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. Then Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that all Johnson & Johnson shots were halted in the state.

The news upended plans across the region.

In Pompano Beach, organizers called off the planned opening of a vaccine site at the E. Pat Larkins Community Center. The city says it is “working to obtain the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in order to open the site.”

Over in Wellington, the city announced that state officials had canceled a pop-up vaccine clinic outside the Mall at Wellington Green. It was supposed to provide doses on a firstcome, first-serve system, with food distribution recipients getting priority.

Samantha Bequer, a spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said federally supported vaccine sites, mobile one-day clinics and homebound vaccinations were impacted by the Johnson & Johnson issue.

“The state is reviewing current vaccine supply to determine how to supplement these operations with Pfizer or Moderna allocations,” she said.

The state canceled 14 mobile one-day vaccination clinics for the day; the sites will be rescheduled as more vaccine becomes available or as the FDA issues new guidance.

Bequer said that before the state paused Johnson & Johnson operations, just over 400 Johnson & Johnson shots were distributed on Tuesday morning, including 134 shots in Miami-Dade County.

The leftover Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be stored at county health departments “until further notice,” she said.

Dr. Leunam Rodriguez, with Prime Health Physicians in Coral Gables, received 500 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine a week ago.

He had been vaccinating his patients, but on Tuesday he decided to temporarily pause vaccinations in his office until after the government provides more clarity.

“It’s difficult to decide if the reactions are related to this vaccine or not,” said Dr. Rodriguez. “Meanwhile, people are still dying from COVID.”

Rodriguez said he has about 400 shots left of J&J.

“I think it’s fair to hold them and see what’s happening,” he said. “I will tell patients to take other precautions and if they give us the clear we can restart again.”

Rodriguez said he specifically asked health officials for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for his patients, about 60% of whom are elderly. “A lot want them because it’s only one shot and immunity is well covered,” he said.

Florida already had planned for a reduction in this week’s supply of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The state received 43,000 doses from the federal government and sent them to two dozen sites. That decrease of 270,000 doses was blamed on production delays and manufacturing errors at a Baltimore facility run by a contractor.

Marcela Thomas, 63, also dropped off a family member for his second shot at the Miami Dade College site. She said she’d heard the news about Johnson & Johnson and was relieved that she had gotten both doses of Pfizer instead.

“I never wanted the Johnson & Johnson,” she said, adding she has friends who wanted just one shot. “I’m happy I took the Pfizer.”