J&J vaccine ‘paused,’ including by Cape Fear Valley Health

FAYETTEVILLE — Clots in six women between the ages of 18 and 48, including one who died, out of 6.8 million single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, have led to a U.S. recommendation to “pause” its use.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration, did not issue a mandate, but the tidal wave effect was felt throughout the world. The decision was made Tuesday, and officials with those organizations indicated the stoppage would last only a matter of days.

Cape Fear Valley Health, on Tuesday morning, followed suit and canceled two walk-in clinics in Fayetteville. The hospital system, which is the parent company of Bladen County Hospital in Elizabethtown, continues to offer Pfizer and Moderna and accept appointments for each.

Federal authorities say there’s been no sign of clot problems from Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Anyone who has received the J&J vaccine and experiences severe headache, abdominal or leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks of inoculation should contact their doctor.

Dr. Chris Tart, vice president of Professional Services at Cape Fear Valley, said, “While the CDC and FDA monitor this evolving concern, out of an abundance of caution, we are pausing the two Johnson & Johnson clinics that we had scheduled for this week. This has no effect on our other clinics offering the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.”

To register for a vaccination, contact the health system through the internet at capefearvalley.com/covid19.

In a statement, J&J said it was aware of the blood clots but no link to its vaccine had been established. Blood clots were also a concern in European countries from the AstraZeneca vaccine. AstraZeneca has not been cleared to be used in the U.S.

The clots happened six to 13 days after vaccination in veins draining blood from the brain. They happened together with low platelets, which are the fragments in blood that normally form clots.

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s vaccine center, said this is not new ground. There were some people who had health problems associated with the polio vaccine in 1955 and a vaccination campaign against a new form of flu in 1976.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said the pause would allow the FDA and the CDC to investigate the clotting cases and “to make physicians more aware of this.” He’s the nation’s top expert on infectious disease.