WACO, TX — The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District is canceling their Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine clinic scheduled for today and Wednesday after the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine "out of an abundance of caution."
In a series of tweets Tuesday morning, the FDA said it was recommending a pause after receiving reports that six people developed "rare and severe" blood clots after receiving the vaccine. So far, nearly 7 million Americans have received a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The Texas Department of State Health Services also asked vaccine providers in Texas to pause all administration of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine following today’s recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.
Due to this pause, the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District is canceling the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics for today, April 13 and Wednesday, April 14.
People with an appointment will be contacted to reschedule by text and/or email.
The April 15, 16 and 17 clinics will continue as planned with the Moderna vaccine.
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are not part of the CDC & FDA’s investigation.
Anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and has experienced a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after their vaccination should contact their health care provider, the health district said.
Health Care Providers should report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System at https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html [vaers.hhs.gov].
"The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District is committed to the safety of our community and will continue to provide the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines," the statement said.
DSHS said none of the cases of blood clots reported at this time have occurred in Texas, where more than 500,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered.
