Kendall County cancels Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine clinic

POSTED UPDATED AT 12:45 P.M. TUESDAY, APRIL 13

The Kendall County Health Department has announced it has canceled the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine clinic scheduled for today, Tuesday, April 13, in Yorkville based on a joint statement issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to pause use of the vaccine at this time.

In a social media post, the health department advises those who were scheduled to receive the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to reschedule their appointment.

“Thank you for your understanding,” the health department statement concludes.

The CDC and FDA are recommending a “pause” in administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots, according to an Associated Press report.

In a joint statement issued Tuesday, April 13, the CDC and FDA said they were investigating unusual clots in six women that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48.

The reports appear similar to a rare, unusual type of clotting disorder that European authorities say is possibly linked to another COVID-19 vaccine not yet cleared in the U.S., from AstraZeneca, according to the AP report.

More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects.

In an updated social media post, the Kendall County Health Department wrote: “If you received your J&J vaccine from KCHD on April 1st 2021, please know, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. That said, COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, the state of Illinois, and the Kendall County Health Department. We take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously. People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.”

U.S. federal distribution channels, including mass vaccination sites, will pause the use of the J&J shot, and states and other providers are expected to follow. The other two authorized vaccines, from Moderna and Pfizer, make up the vast share of COVID-19 shots administered in the U.S. and are not affected by the pause.

Further information is available on the health department’s website at kendallhealth.org/community-health/covid-19-vaccine/.