LANSING, Mich. — Michigan is following CDC guidelines and temporarily halting the use of the Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine while federal regulators investigate a series of reports of severe adverse reactions to the single-dose vaccine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended this move on Tuesday after they identified six cases of severe blood clotting in individuals who received the vaccine.
“The safety and health of Michiganders will always come first," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office said in a statement. "We will follow the FDA’s guidance to temporarily pause the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of an abundance of caution, and adapt our vaccine strategy going forward until a further review of the data can be conducted."
Suspending use of the Johnson & Johnson makes it "more important than ever for the federal government to implement a targeted strategy that allocates additional Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to hotspots like Michigan to slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives," Whitmer's office said.
The Ingham County Health Department also released a statement Tuesday morning:
The Ingham County Health Department (ICHD) has paused all use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in accordance with recommendations from the CDC, FDA and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. At this time, all scheduled appointments at ICHD will be kept with Pfizer or Moderna vaccine replacing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. We await further guidance from the CDC and the FDA while they investigate reports of blood clots following receipt of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Adverse events are extremely rare, but vaccine safety is our highest priority.
In a series of tweets Tuesday morning, the FDA said it was recommending a pause after receiving reports that six people developed "rare and severe" blood clots after receiving the vaccine.
Today FDA and @CDCgov issued a statement regarding the Johnson & Johnson #COVID19 vaccine. We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.
— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) April 13, 2021
"CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices...on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases," the FDA said in a statement Tuesday.
CDC and FDA reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare type of blood clot in individuals after receiving Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. See full statement: https://t.co/ekYT9dljtd pic.twitter.com/a7Fiixg735
— CDC (@CDCgov) April 13, 2021
The FDA reports that these events of adverse reactions “appear to be extremely rare.” More than 6.8 million doses have been administered in the U.S. to date.
As of Monday, Michigan had administered 199,075 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which received emergency use authorization in late February. It’s not yet clear if any adverse reactions to the shot were reported in Michigan.
Related:
- FDA, CDC recommend a pause in use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine
- Georgia becomes latest state to pause vaccinations after multiple adverse reactions
- Colorado mass vaccination site paused after multiple adverse reactions to J&J COVID-19 vaccine
- North Carolina sites halt J&J shots after adverse reactions
- Data shows it's unlikely there will be additional adverse reactions, issues from vaccines
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