The Berrien County Health Department and the Van Buren/Cass District Health Department have suspended use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Both departments will use either Moderna or Pfizer vaccines at clinics that had been planned for J&J. Berrien County Health Department spokesperson Gillian Conrad tells WSJM News those who were supposed to get a shot this week still can.
“Anyone who has made an appointment to receive a vaccine from the Berrien County Health Department will still have the opportunity to get that vaccine,” Conrad said. “Clinics planned with the use of J&J vaccine for this week will be switched to use the Moderna product.”
That will require a second shot. Conrad says the CDC is meeting Wednesday to review the six cases of blood clots in people after they got the J&J shot.
“They may continue to authorize the use of the vaccine for all adults after the review. They might also modify the authorization, possibly limiting it to certain population groups.”
Conrad says the Johnson & Johnson shot uses similar technology to the AstraZeneca shot, which also raised blood clot concerns in Europe. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S. to date, and there have only been six cases of blood clots. Conrad says anyone who has a vaccine appointment still has it, and the health department will contact all of those who were scheduled if anything changes with their appointment. The Van Buren/Cass District Health Department says all of its clinics with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that were scheduled for this week will still take place, now using the Moderna shots.
