The Arizona Department of Health Services has recommended a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine based on recommendations from the CDC and FDA. This pause is based on six reported U.S. cases, out of 6.8-million doses administered nationally, of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine. So far in Arizona, 226,300-doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been allocated in the state, with approximately 122,000 administered. Both Yavapai and Coconino County Health Departments have stopped using the vaccine. According to the CDC, all six blood clot cases were in women between the ages of 18-and-48. Symptoms occurred 6-to-13-days after vaccination. People who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within 3-weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider. The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meets today to provide further guidance to states.
