GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) told vaccinators on Tuesday to suspend use of the Johnson & Johnson shot amid fears the shots may cause blood clots.
Before DHS's announcement, Prevea Health said it was putting a pause on administering the vaccine. Additionally, Bellin Health and Oconto County Public Health have also put their use of the J&J vaccine on pause. ThedaCare says it will also pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday recommended vaccinators pause the shots while they investigate whether the Johnson & Johnson shots are causing unusual clots. FDA officials say the pause could last days.
The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets, the fragments in blood that normally form clots. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48. One person died, and all of the cases remain under investigation.
Prevea Health released a statement to NBC 26 about the vaccine:
"Based on the recent recommendation from the CDC and FDA, Prevea Health is pausing on administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine until further notice out of an abundance of caution. For patients who are already scheduled for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, we are making every effort to provide them with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. We will continue to keep prevea.com/vaccine updated."
Adam Kempf, of Fond du Lac, received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine Saturday.
Asked for his reaction to the CDC- and FDA-recommended pause of the J&J vaccine brand he had received, “A little scary,” he said.
“I had what felt like the worst flu I’ve ever had in my life for about 24 hours,” Kempf said about his side effects.
He said Tuesday afternoon that he felt mostly better.
Possible side effects to the J&J vaccine including tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, nausea, or injection arm pain, redness, or swelling “usually start within a day or two of getting the vaccine,” according to the CDC, and should “go away in a few days,” according to the agency.
Donna Baranczyk had planned to receive the J&J vaccine Tuesday morning at a vaccine site on UW-Green Bay’s campus, she said.
An email Tuesday morning alerted her to the pause, but the Pfizer vaccine was available to her and she went to receive that shot instead, she said.
“…I just wanted the [one-dose J&J vaccine], instead of the two [dose Pfizer vaccine], but it doesn’t matter to me,” Baranczyk said.
“I’m still coming in for the shots.”
Baranczyk, of Seymour, said that post-vaccination, she’ll be able to spend more time with her son and won’t “be so nervous to go places, even the grocery store.”
Decisions like Baranczyk’s to receive a vaccine is what Mo Kharbat, vice president of pharmacy services at SSM Health, would like to see.
“For patients who haven’t been vaccinated, hopefully [the J&J pause] won’t discourage them from seeking a vaccine appointment,” Kharbat said.
He said the FDA- and CDC-recommend pause is significant. A reporter asked him, if the J&J pause ends, whether he fears people might be discouraged to receive the J&J shot.
“There is no doubt that more people will hesitate when it comes to getting the vaccine, especially if it’s the Johnson and Johnson vaccine,” Kharbat said, noting patient education efforts that “safety events are indeed rare.”
More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been given in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Karen Timberlake said the clots appear to be extremely rare but the state pause order comes out of an abundance of caution.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.