400 Doses Of J&J COVID-19 Vaccine Already Used In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — In light of blood clot concerns linked to the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged providers to stop using it.

"We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution," Dr. Peter Marks of the FDA and Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said in a joint statement.

As of Monday, more than 6.8 million doses of the single-dose vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to the FDA. Lisa DeHernandez, public information officer for Howard County, told Patch that 400 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the county.

"We are not aware of any reports of blood clots or other serious side effects from J&J, nor any other administered vaccine," Hernandez said.

At this time, there are no Johnson & Johnson vaccine clinics scheduled as the county's supply of this particular vaccine has already been used up, Hernandez added. She said some pharmacies in the area have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but wasn't sure which ones.

Walgreens stated that it would be pausing the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine "immediately." Wegmans has canceled all Johnson & Johnson vaccine appointments while it is being investigated. CVS also said it was halting use of this particular vaccine.

The Maryland Department of Health reports 173,534 people have received the J&J vaccine in Maryland as of Tuesday.

"Based on the federal government's recommendation and out of an abundance of caution, the Maryland Department of Health directs all Maryland COVID-19 vaccine providers to pause the administration of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines until further federal guidance is issued," the Maryland Department of Health said in a statement Tuesday morning. "Providers should continue to maintain their supplies of Johnson & Johnson vaccines in a manner that prevents wastage."

The 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 vaccine.

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

Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said the pause in administering the vaccine would not be a lengthy one.

"We expect it to be a matter of days," Woodcock said.

People who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine already are likely "very concerned," Schuchat said at a joint news conference Tuesday morning about the pause in J&J vaccine administration. For those who got the vaccine more than a month ago, Schuchat reported the risk was "very low."

Those who received this particular shot within the last couple of weeks should "look for any symptoms" such as "severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath," Schuchat said, beyond the potential flu-like symptoms that many vaccine recipients may experience, and contact their health care providers.

Patch Editors Tom Davis and Elizabeth Janney contributed to this article

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