Q&A About The Pause of Johnson and Johnson Vaccine

Provided by the Washington State Department of Health

WHY ARE J&J VACCINES BEING PAUSED?

• On Tuesday, April 13th, the FDA/CDC announced a rare but serious side effect including serious brain blood clots (CVST) combined with low platelet counts in six patients who received J&J vaccines.
• The six patients at that time were women under 50 years of age.
• The J&J vaccine was temporarily paused out of an abundance of caution, but has since been reinstituted.

WHAT IS WA STATE DOING ABOUT J&J VACCINES?

• The Washington State Department of Health paused the use of the Johnson & Johnson (J & J) vaccine statewide starting immediately (4/13/21), following the guidance of the FDA/CDC, but has since reinstituted its use.
• Safety is the highest priority when it comes to all COVID-19 vaccines.
• None of the six patients who experienced these blood clots were Washington residents.

WILL J&J CAUSE ME TO HAVE A BLOOD CLOT?

• While adverse events such as blood clots are very unfortunate, it is important to remember that out of 6.8 million J & J vaccines administered nationwide, only six people are known to have experienced this side effect.
• That is a fraction of a percent, which shows us that this side effect, while serious, is extremely rare.
  For comparison:
  • 1 in 366 people will have a car accident during a 1000 mile trip (Source: Dr. Lindquist in media
    availability on 4/13)
  • 1 in 10,000 people will have side effects to popular antibiotics (Source: Dr. Lindquist in media
    availability on 4/13)
  • Fewer than 1 in 1 million people will develop a blood clot from J&J vaccine.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I RECEIVED THE J&J VACCINE?

• 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.

WHAT PEOPLE WITH J&J APPOINTMENTS SHOULD DO:

• If you have an appointment with a clinic that was scheduling the J&J vaccine, those clinics will be putting information out on their own channels to advise you of next steps.
  DOH was already seeing low dose allocation of J&J vaccine.
  • Because J&J was already in limited supply, the pause of J&J vaccines had minimal effect.
• The state acknowledges that any cancelations or rescheduling due to the temporary pause is an inconvenience and disruption, but it was the right thing to do until we get more information on the vaccine.

IF YOU THINK YOU ARE HAVING SIDE EFFECTS:

• Contact your health care provider if you are having the following symptoms within 3 weeks of receiving vaccine:
  • Severe headache
  • Abdominal pain
  • Leg Pain
  • Shortness of breath

WHAT IS CAUSING THE BLOOD CLOTS

• No definitive cause has been identified yet, but the FDA says that a that a probable cause is a rare immune response generated by an individual after receiving the vaccine.
• Dr. Scott Lindquist, Acting State Health Officer, says that the 6 reported blood clots with J&J are associated with vaccine, however they not caused by the vaccine.