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Ohio Advises Pause On Johnson And Johnson Vaccine As Feds Review ‘Extremely Rare’ Blood Clot Cases

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health are advising all COVID-19 vaccine providers to temporarily pause the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine as federal officials review six “extremely rare” cases of severe blood clotting. The U.S. has administered 6.8 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Kent State University student Marz Anderson gets his Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination from Kent State nurse Beth Krul in Kent, Ohio, Thursday, April 8, 2021.
Kent State University student Marz Anderson gets his Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination from Kent State nurse Beth Krul in Kent, Ohio, Thursday, April 8, 2021. [AP Photo | Phil Long]
The CDC plans to hold a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to review the six cases.

In a joint statement from the CDC and FDA, officials said the call to temporarily pause the use of the vaccine is out of an “abundance of caution.”

“In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia),” the statement said.

The six cases are all women between the ages of 18 and 48 with symptoms happening six to 13 days after receiving the vaccination. Officials also say treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different than what might be typically administered.

“Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given,” the joint CDC-FDA statement said.

A statement from DeWine’s office said officials with the Ohio Department of Health are following this situation closely.

Clinics in Ohio that scheduled people for the Johnson and Johnson shot are reportedly switching over to the other vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer.

DeWine had announced that vaccine clinics were set to begin this week to administer the Johnson and Johnson vaccine for college students.