KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — In accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with an announcement Tuesday by the State of Michigan, the Kalamazoo County Health Department will pause all upcoming clinics using the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine.
The pause is being conducted to review data concerning cases of extremely rare but serious blot clots in those who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The Kalamazoo County Health Department will work to reschedule Johnson & Johnson vaccine clinic appointments to Pfizer or Moderna.
As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the United States. 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 J&J vaccine.
All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. In Kalamazoo County 4,015 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered with no reported cases of blood-clotting.
CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases.
FDA officials will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, HCS will be following the recommended pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.
“We take this recent development very seriously and we will continue to review the data and follow the recommendations given by our state and federal partners regarding vaccine management and distribution,” Kalamazoo County Health Officer Jim Rutherford said in a statement. “Vaccines remain as the best defense against COVID-19 which has taken more than 550,000 lives nationally. The safety of our residents through vaccine distribution remains our top priority, although at this time we will not be using the Johnson & Johnson product.”
Individuals with postponed appointments will be contacted and rescheduled as soon as possible.
Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. The County Health Department says that it takes all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.
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.
Health care providers are asked to report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System at this link.
Kalamazoo County isn’t the only West Michigan community to issue a pause on the J&J dose. The counties of Allegan, Van Buren, Calhoun and Berrien confirmed Tuesday that they will not be using the J&J vaccine at this time.
In the City of Kalamazoo, Western Michigan University also confirmed that it would not be using the J&J vaccine.
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