NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will follow the recommendation from federal health officials to "pause" the use of Johnson and Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine amid safety concerns.
In a joint statement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they will stop administering the single-dose shot out of an abundance of caution.
The agencies say they are "reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine."
"Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare," the statement read. "Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered."
All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48.
The New York Times is reporting one woman died and a second in Nebraska is hospitalized in critical condition.
"All of the cases happened six to 13 days after the vaccine and they noted pain in the abdomen or pain headache and that caused them to go the hospital," CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus said on "CBS This Morning." "Five of the six were treated differently than the average blood clot because here platelet counts were down and you have to give a special drug that reverses it and unfortunately one of the patients has died form the blood clot."
Johnson & Johnson said in a statement, "“We are aware that thromboembolic events including those with thrombocytopenia have been reported with COVID-19 vaccines. At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events and the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.”
The FDA and CDC will stop using the vaccine at federal sites, including mass vaccination hubs, and will urge states to do the same.
Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said New York will immediately pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine statewide.
All appointments for Johnson & Johnson vaccines scheduled for Tuesday at New York State mass vaccination sites will be honored with the Pfizer vaccine, Zucker said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said every vaccination site in New York City has been told to stop administering the Johnson & Johnson shots. The city's vaccine command center will coordinate new appointments for the Moderna or Pfizer said.
De Blasio said 234,000 Johnson & Johnson doses have been administered in the city and there were no reports of blood clots.
De Blasio, who himself got the Johnson & Johnson shot, said he still has confidence in the vaccine.
"I saw it as really an abundance of caution on the part of the FDA because it's a handful of cases out of millions of vaccinations and I understood that that was important that nothing should be ignored or taken for granted, but for me, I did not feel any less confident in the vaccination," de Blasio said. "It doesn't change my view in the end and I had a very successful experience with the vaccination."
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, at a press conference Tuesday afternoon, said that even without the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the state will remain on its current vaccination schedule.
“We have stopped using Johnson & Johnson in this state and we're going to use Pfizer and Moderna in the meantime. When they finish doing their work on the Johnson & Johnson will resume using Johnson & Johnson; but, we do have enough Pfizer and we do have enough Moderna vaccination to keep our schedule and to keep those numbers happening.”
Connecticut will also halt the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine while the FDA and CDC complete their review.
Connecticut's health department said roughly 100,000 residents have received the J&J vaccine with no reported serious adverse events.
"The CDC, FDA and Connecticut DPH all take vaccine safety extremely seriously. Although the reported complications are extremely rare, we will await the results of the investigation before proceeding with further use of the J&J vaccine," Connecticut health officials said.
New Jersey will also follow the federal guidance out of an abundance of caution and put Johnson & Johnson vaccines on hold.
The Garden State has administered roughly 235,000 doses of the J&J vaccine with no similar reported adverse effects.
"No one who has received this vaccine should panic or worry," Gov. Phil Murphy said, adding that even with the pause the state's goal to vaccinate 4.7 million adult New Jersey residents remains achievable.
Residents can reschedule their appointments to receive either the Moderna or Pfizer shots.
Related
The CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to further review the cases and assess their potential significance.
"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," the agencies said.
More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the U.S.
The FDA will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. ET to discuss the decision.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine had already been in short supply following a mix-up at a Baltimore plant that ruined 15 million doses and this latest development could further hamper vaccination efforts across the country.
New York City Councilman Mark Levine said, "This will be a big setback for vaccination in NYC. Key components of our program here rely on J&J. Home-based, mobile sites, private doctors offices."
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