Ohio State University Pauses Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 Vaccinations Due to Blood Clot Concerns

Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center has administered over 163,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses since December 14, with only 1,116 being the Johnson and Johnson/Janssen (JandJ) vaccine. The pause in the use of the JandJ vaccine was announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) due to the development of a rare blood clotting disorder in six patients who received the vaccine. The university has stopped scheduling new appointments for the JandJ vaccine and will contact those scheduled to receive the vaccine in the coming days to reschedule or cancel.

Key Takeaways:

• The U.S. FDA and CDC announced a pause in the use of the JandJ COVID-19 vaccine due to rare blood clotting disorders in six patients.
• The patients who experienced complications were all females between ages 18 and 48 who received the vaccine between 6-13 days prior.
• The JandJ vaccine has been administered to over 6 million people in the United States, resulting in a complication rate of less than 1 in 2 million doses.
• Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center has administered 1,116 JandJ vaccine doses, with no similar complications reported.
• The university has stopped scheduling new JandJ vaccine appointments and will contact those scheduled to reschedule or cancel.
• The Pfizer vaccine is still available at the Wexner Medical Center.
• The university will await further direction from the FDA and CDC before resuming the use of the JandJ vaccine.

Statistics:

• 6 patients out of over 6 million doses of the JandJ vaccine administered in the United States have experienced rare blood clotting disorders.
• 1,116 doses of the JandJ vaccine have been administered at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center.
• 163,000 total vaccine doses have been administered at the Wexner Medical Center since December 14.
• 121 million people in the United States have been vaccinated with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Sources:

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Ohio State University - Columbus President Kristina M. Johnson and Executive Vice President and Chancellor for Health Affairs and CEO of Wexner Medical Center Dr. Harold L. Paz