Dr. Mandy Cohen
Raleigh – The state of North Carolina is mandating a pause in the administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, following reccomendations of the Centers For Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration.
The recommendations come following a rare type of blood clot manifesting in six women between the ages of 18 and 48, who had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The type of clot is the result of low platelets in the bloodstream and must be treated differently by medical personnel than more common blood clot types.
None of the six women are from North Carolina.
N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said the decision was made out of an abundance of caution and would allow CDC officials to take a closer look at the cases and the vaccine.
“Today’s actions are the result of a vaccine safety system that is working,” Cohen said at a Tuesday afternoon press conference.
She reiterated the point that the pause showed that the safety system was working numerous times through the press conference.
“Our safety monitoring systems are highly sensitive, which is how the CDC could identify such a rare number of events, Cohen said.
“This pause will allow them to look further at the data and make sure providers know how to treat this rare blood clot.”
She also said the pause served to give medical professionals time to understand the rare side effect and how to treat it.
Cohen also urged medical professionals to be aware of the side effect and to consider it if a patient presents with blood clots and a low platelet count within three weeks of receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Other symptoms of the complication insclude severe headache, abdominal pain, shortness of breath and leg pain. However, she emphasized the rarity of the complication.
“What we are talking about today is an extremely rare event, literally one in a million,” Cohen said.
She said 242,000 doses of the vaccine had been administered statewide so far, and that she had taken the Johnson & Johnson vaccine herself, with minimal side effects.
She also said that far more doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines had been administered in North Carolina than of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“We encourage anyone who has their Pfizer or Moderna vaccine appointment this week to keep those appointments to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” Cohen said.