As I am sure you are aware, on Tuesday the CDC and FDA, out of an abundance of caution, recommended a pause in the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
On Wednesday, the CDC held a public hearing where an advisory panel decided to leave the pause in place for the next week to 10 days to review additional data.
There is no doubt that some members will be concerned about this. However, at this time, it is important to note that CDC and FDA officials have emphasized that the side effects that led to this pause are extremely rare.
This is a developing situation, but here is what we know currently:
- The reason for the pause was the appearance of six cases of a rare cerebral blood clot after administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. To date, 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the United States.
- This side effect was only observed in Caucasian women between 18 and 48 years of age.
- The side effects were discovered six to 13 days after the administration of the vaccine.
- CDC and FDA officials have emphasized that the occurrence of these side effects is “extremely rare.”
- PSEA is not aware of any blood clot issues with members who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
- Pennsylvania’s school staff vaccination program ended two weeks ago, on March 31, and most of the 112,000 members who were vaccinated through that program got their shots nearly four weeks ago. So, we are hopeful that we are past the time of risk for our membership.
If members have symptoms, they should contact their health care providers
While the cerebral blood clot side effects are extremely rare, members who have symptoms or concerns should contact their health care providers.
We will keep you updated
PSEA will be in regular contact with federal and state officials about this, and we will share information with you as we receive it. We will also continually update information on www.psea.org/covid19vaccine.
