Use of J&J vaccine suspended due to blood clots reports
Pharmacies still using Pfizer, Moderna shots
Federal agencies investigating reports of potentially dangerous blood clots are recommending a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.
Arkansas joined other states today in temporarily halting the use of the J&J vaccine while a federal review is underway.
The Arkansas Department of Health said vaccination clinics with the J&J vaccine are cancelled, but ones offering the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines will continue as planned.
The J&J vaccine has proven to be one of the more popular vaccines due to its one-dose nature. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are still being used.
The Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration said they are investigating unusual clots that occurred six to 13 days after vaccination. The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets. The six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48, with one death reported.
Pharmacist Justin Breezeel, with Forrest City Family Pharmacy, said the pharmacy has a good supply of the J&J vaccine in stock due, in part, to a decrease in demand for the vaccine.
“We do have quite a bit of it. We got some for the Sunday clinic and ended up not using a whole bunch, so it’s sitting in the fridge until they say it’s okay to use,” said Breezeel, adding that the expiration date on the pharmacy’s current J&J vaccine supply is late summer.
The pharmacy uses the J&J vaccine at clinics in the area, but also continues to administer the Moderna vaccine.
Breezeel said he is continuing to notice a decline in the number of people wanting to be vaccinated, noting that “most people who have been trying to get one have gotten one at this point. I feel like the demand is still going down. We’re currently seeing people now who might have been on the fence before about getting the vaccine who have decided now they want to get it.”
The pharmacy sets appointments twice a week for between 70 to 100 people, according to Breezeel. “About a dozen or so are either no call or no show, but that’s not always people needing second doses.”
Officials are also stressing that those who receive the first of the two-shot vaccines to return for the second shot.
“You’re just not as protected against the virus with one dose as you would be if you got the second one,” said Breezeel. “Those who get one dose are about 60 to 80 percent protected, while you’re about 95 percent if you get the second one.”
Breezeel said pharmacy workers have spoken with several parents asking about the vaccine for their children. Those between 16 and 18 are eligible to receive a shot with parental consent.
More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects.
The federal and state agencies recommend that people who were given the J&J vaccine and experience severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after receiving the shot should contact their health care provider.