State hits 'pause' on J&J vaccine

Gil Pound, The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga.
·3 min read

Apr. 20—Following recommendations from both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Georgia on Tuesday stopped giving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine "until further notice," according to the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH).

The decision came after there were six reported cases of a "rare and severe" type of blood clot in women ranging in age from 18 to 48 about a week after having received the J&J shot. DPH said last Tuesday that none of the six women were vaccinated in Georgia.

The CDC is telling anyone experiencing certain symptoms after receiving the J&J vaccine to urgently seek medical care. Those symptoms include: severe headache, backache, new neurologic symptoms, severe abdominal pain, shortness of breath, leg swelling, tiny red spots on the skin, or new or easy bruising.

"Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare, but out of an abundance of caution DPH will temporarily stop the administration of the J&J vaccine while scientists review the data around these cases," DPH said in a Tuesday press release. "More than 124,000 doses of J&J vaccine have been safely administered in Georgia."

Of those 124,000 doses statewide, DPH has administered just over 3,700 in the 13-county DPH North Central Health District, which includes Baldwin, Hancock, Putnam, Washington and Wilkinson counties. Michael Hokanson, public information officer for the district, gave that number to The Union-Recorder last Tuesday when the J&J pause was announced. Hokanson said county-by-county breakdowns of vaccine types given are not available.

For those who were hoping to receive the single-dose vaccine at an upcoming appointment, there are two options.

"When an individual with a J&J appointment arrives at their scheduled time, they will be informed that we are unable to administer J&J at this time due to a hold recommended by CDC and FDA," Hokanson said. "They will be offered the Moderna vaccine. Should they choose not to accept Moderna, they will have to try to reschedule for J&J if [and/or] when the pause is lifted."

Moderna manufactures one of the two available COVID vaccines that must be given in two doses three to four weeks apart. Pfizer is the other. The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine was approved by the FDA Feb. 27 under emergency use authorization. The Moderna and Pfizer versions were given similar approval in December.

Local high school teacher Zachary Balkcom, 30, received the J&J vaccine a little more than a month ago on March 12. The Georgia College Early College educator shared his experience with the newest vaccine, which he got at the Baldwin County Health Department.

"Immediately after I did not [have any side effects]," he said. "Twenty-four hours after receiving the shot I had some muscle aches, headaches, and fatigue. These lasted for about 18 hours. I have had no symptoms since."

For Balkcom, this latest news about the J&J pause has not caused him to worry any, partially because the window in which the recent blood clots were found in the six women has passed for him.

"These kinds of things are not uncommon with the speed in which the vaccines were produced, but they are not a cause for worry necessarily," he said. "I appreciate the caution and concern displayed in the pause while further testing is done."