Pennsylvania extends delay for Johnson & Johnson vaccine

By TAYLOR BROWN

tbrown@yourmvi.com

The pause in distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been extended through next week.

On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health notified all COVID-19 vaccine providers that the pause in administering doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be extended until April 24, or until updated guidance is received from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.

Earlier this week, the state DOH recommended a pause in administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine until April 20, following reports that six people who received it developed blood clots. 

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices held an emergency meeting that ended without taking a vote to change the current recommendation, and those six incidents are still under review.

The six cases occurred in women between 18 and 48 who were among the 6.8 million Americans who received the vaccine. 

The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was first allocated to Pennsylvania the week of March 1, and it was first used for a special initiative involving K-12 and early education teachers and support staff. 

Only 247,063 doses of Johnson & Johnson shots were given in Pennsylvania. 

One of the six cases being studied involves a 26-year-old Pennsylvania woman who recovered after treatment at a New Jersey hospital, but the CDC is not releasing personal information in the case.

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