Have an appointment today in Platte County? Reschedule
Platte County Health Department will pause on the Johnson and Johnson vaccine after recommendations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Anyone who has an appointment for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine today April 13, 2021, is asked to reschedule their appointment through Missouri’s Vaccine Navigator system covidvaccine.mo.gov/navigator/ or by calling 1-877-435-8411.
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine administration is being paused in Missouri until further notice.
“In an abundance of caution and as per federal guidelines, we are pausing vaccination with Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine until further notice in Missouri,” said Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). “We anticipate having more information shortly to make further decisions about overall vaccine distribution in light of this new development and will continue to update citizens who have been vaccinated with the J&J vaccine after the advisory committee meets at the federal level tomorrow.”
People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider. Patients with other clinical questions should contact their health care provider or call the COVID-19 hotline at 877-435-8411.
Providers are asked to keep any on-hand J&J vaccine in the appropriate storage unit and label it “quarantine-do not use” until further notice.
As the State of Missouri receives more information, it will be made available, state officials said Tuesday.
As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen ) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. 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 J&J vaccine. In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia).
All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.
CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday, April 14 to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, federal agencies are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution. This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.
Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare, officials say. Health care providers are asked to report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System at vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.htmlexternal icon.
CDC and FDA will provide additional information and answer questions later today at a media briefing. A recording of that media call will be available on the FDA’s YouTube channel.