County Health Department Response After Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Withdrawn

Effingham County Health Department received news of the recommended pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday morning. This news came after six U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals receiving the J&J vaccine were reported.

“We understand the anxiety of those who have received the J&J vaccine. This has been a less than one in a million event and although the risk is still very low, we want to take precautions to ensure your safety,” states Jeff Workman, Effingham County Health Department Administrator. All vaccine of this type was immediately taken out of service and other local providers were contacted to ensure their J & J vaccine was shelved as well.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccination is the single dose vaccination previously available to persons 18 years of age and older. For people who got the vaccine more than a month ago, the risk is very low at this time. People who recently got the vaccine – within the last three weeks – should be aware of symptoms such as severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath.

If you have received the J&J COVID-19 vaccine and develop any of these symptoms, contact your healthcare provider, or seek medical care.

Effingham County Health Department has offered only a limited number of these vaccinations; however, individuals may have travelled outside the area to secure this brand of vaccine.

A Health Department release states, "Importantly, there are three vaccines available. We are not seeing these events with the other two vaccines. People who have vaccine appointments with the other two vaccines should continue with their appointment."

For more information on the J & J pause, visit the Effingham County Health Department website at www.effcohealth.org.