Pause in the Use of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

Pause in the Use of
Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

Dear Veterans,

Carl Vinson VA Medical Center and all it's COVID-19 vaccine clinics have temporarily paused administration of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine based on CDC and FDA recommendations. I'll also address this in the Virtual Town Hall tomorrow, April 15 at 6 p.m. via Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/VADublin. 

Our leadership teams will be closely communicating with both agencies to continue learning more and ensuring our response is in line with the latest science and public health guidance. We'll be sharing more information with you throughout this week.

We are currently working to identify those who meet the general pattern in our population (all women under age 55 who have received the vaccine since Mar 29) to reconfirm they haven't had any adverse symptoms. This is out of an abundance of caution as the events appear to be very rare.

Some of the symptoms the CDC has identified to look for if you've had the J&J vaccine in the last three weeks consists of “severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath."

This is what our safety measures are meant to do, flag patterns in reaction and escalate them to allow for investigation. We are putting safety first, and this pause is important to give medical providers the time to plan for how to treat these rare cases if they emerge.

All clinics previously offering the J&J vaccine will now be offering the Moderna vaccine to all Veterans, their spouses, and Caregivers who want a vaccination.

Call our COVID-19 Call Center at (800) 595-5229 or (478) 277-6762 to schedule an appointment at our main campus or any of our satellite clinics to receive your Moderna vaccine.

To get the latest updates about COVID-19 vaccines at Dublin VAMC, visit our website (https://www.dublin.va.gov/services/covid-19-vaccines.asp).

For CDC/FDA press release on pause please visit: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/joint-cdc-and-fda-statement-johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine.

By the numbers:
• 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. Only six cases of these rare blood clots have been reported. These are extremely rare.
• As of April 12, VA has administered more than 109,000 J&J vaccines to the following:
  o Veteran: 100,935
  o Employee: 6,304
  o Note: Caregivers and Interagency not tracked by vaccine
  o Inventory: 403,185

Why should you consider getting the COVID-19 vaccine now?
A vaccine will help protect you, other Veterans and our staff by lowering the risk of getting an infection. Vaccines will also slow the spread of the virus protecting our families, friends, and neighbors.

What else you need to know.
You will need to receive two doses of the Moderna vaccine, and one does of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine (when it becomes available) to be more fully protected. Depending on the vaccine you receive, you may need to be available to come back to the location you received your first dose in 28 days for your second dose.

After you receive the vaccine, it will still be important to continue wearing a mask in public, washing your hands, and staying at least 6 feet from others who don’t live with you until the virus is under control. It is our hope that a vaccine will help us all come through this pandemic together.

Please call us today to make an appointment!