Halting Johnson & Johnson vaccine won’t slow vaccinations in southwest IL
Local health officials say the halting of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to new concerns about the single-shot’s side effects won’t slow the vaccination process in the metro-east.
On Tuesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced it would stop the distribution and administration of Johnson & Johnson’s Jannsen vaccine out of an “abundance of caution” while the U.S. Center for Disease Control and the Federal Food and Drug Administration review the cases of rare but severe blood clotting in six people who received the vaccine.
But local health officials say, unlike some areas, the metro-east hasn’t heavily relied on Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine and have more broadly distributed the Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna two-dose vaccinations.
Between Madison and St. Clair County, roughly 18,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered, according to health officials in the two counties. That’s compared to the 303,391 total doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed, meaning approximately 6% of the two counties’ vaccines have been Johnson & Johnson.
Most of Illinois’ vaccine stock is made up of Moderna or Pfizer doses, the state health department said Tuesday in a news release. Currently, anyone over the age of 16 can schedule an appointment to be vaccinated in Illinois.
St. Clair, Madison doesn’t rely on J&J shots
St. Clair County Health Department Deputy Director Myla Blanford said the county mostly relies on Pfizer’s vaccine, so scheduling appointments won’t be an issue.
“It has been administered in less quantity,” Blanford said of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. “And we’ve only run it a few times at the mass vaccination site.”
In Madison County, county health department director of community health and public information officer Amy Yeager also said a slowdown in vaccination in the population isn’t likely.
“The fortunate thing is we have two other vaccines we’ve had no other problems with,” Yeager said. “This won’t slow us down.”
She added that the county has leftover Johnson & Johnson vaccines stored away for use when or if the FDA decides the vaccine is safe.
In both counties, people who had appointments to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccines will receive their first-dose Pfizer or Moderna shot instead.
Rural counties have other worries
In nearby Randolph, Bond and Monroe counties, health officials say there hasn’t been an abundance of Johnson & Johnson doses made available to them. Between the three counties, only around 1,000 doses of the one-shot vaccine have been administered.
A bigger worry for rural health officials like Bond County Health Administrator Sean Eifert is how negative views of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine might influence people who were already wary of getting vaccinations to not get a shot at all.
He said people who are worried should keep in mind that there were six cases out of 7 million vaccines of Johnson & Johnson given in the U.S.
“The fact that the FDA and CDC are being so extremely cautious should actually be reassuring as it demonstrates the extreme care they have taken and continue to take to ensure our safety,” he said.
Monroe County Health Department Administrator John Wagner said it’s already difficult to fill up day-long mass vaccination events in the county. He also believes concerns about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could make it even more difficult to vaccinate the county.
“It’s going to give those people who were a little bit reluctant but maybe we’re going to get it anyway a reason (to not get vaccinated),” he said. “It’s just going to give people an excuse not to get it in their mind and there is no excuse to not get it.”
None of the local health department officials interviewed by the Belleville News-Democrat reported the kinds of serious side effects that led to further review of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. However, anyone who has received it and develops a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their doctor.
The CDC and FDA said Tuesday an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice will meet Wednesday to review the six cases.
“This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot,” a statement from the two agencies read..
This story was originally published April 13, 2021 at 3:01 PM.