News

UPDATE:
Humboldt County Public Health has announced that it will follow federal recommendations and immediately pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

Further, Public Health urges anyone experiencing severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks of getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to contact their health care provider.

See the full press release from the county copied below our original post.

PREVIOUSLY:
Federal health agencies called for a pause on injections of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine this morning after reports of a rare blood clotting in six women within weeks of their receiving the single-dose vaccine.

The women were between the ages of 18 and 48 and all developed the illness seven to 21 days after receiving the vaccination. According to the New York Times, one of the women died and another has been hospitalized in critical condition.

To date, more than 6.8 million people have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States, including hundreds in Humboldt County.

Food and Drug Administration Center for Biological Evaluation and Research Director Peter Marks said the agency was recommending a pause in vaccine administration out of an "abundance of caution" and that the "adverse events appear to be extremely rare."

The "pause" directly affects any federal allocation and administration of the vaccine and serves as a recommendation to state and local health officials, some of which have already followed suit. It's unclear at this point if the state or Humboldt County health officials will do the same.

Humboldt County announced last week that it expected to receive 650 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as a part of a record allocation of 11,540 doses of COVID-19 vaccination and had been planning clinics and scheduling appointments accordingly.

We'll update this post when we have additional information from Public Health.

See the full press release from Humboldt County Public Health copied below:

April 13, 2021 - Public Health to Pause Use of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
707-441-5000 ; [email protected] ; Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm Opens in new window
Humboldt County Public Health will follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and immediately pause use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

In a joint statement today, the two federal agencies recommended the pause after six women between the ages of 18 and 48 developed an extremely rare but dangerous type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis within six to 13 days of receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

With more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered in the United States, the decision to pause was made out of what health officials called “an abundance of caution” and will continue until these cases can be reviewed and investigated. The joint statement read, “Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.”

Anyone experiencing severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks of getting the Johnson & Johnson specific vaccine should contact their health care provider.

Humboldt County Public Health has contacted approved vaccinators and other local health care providers to alert them of the pause. CDC will convene the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Wednesday to review these cases, but the duration of the pause is unknown at this time. Anyone whose Johnson & Johnson vaccine appointment is cancelled can call the Humboldt County Joint Information Center at 707-441-5000 for assistance or go to My Turn (https://myturn.ca.gov/) to reschedule for a different vaccine.

To read the CDC and FDA joint statement, go to cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0413-JJ-vaccine.html.

For the most recent COVID-19 information, visit cdc.gov or cdph.ca.gov. Local information is available at humboldtgov.org or by contacting [email protected] or calling 707-441-5000.


Sign up for COVID-19 vaccination: MyTurn.ca.gov
Local COVID-19 vaccine information: humboldtgov.org/VaccineInfo
Humboldt County COVID-19 Data Dashboard: humboldtgov.org/Dashboard
Follow us on Facebook: @HumCoCOVID19
Instagram: @HumCoCOVID19
Twitter: @HumCoCOVID19
Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert

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