Oregon pauses J&J vaccine as medical issue investigated
Reyna Lopez, executive director of PCUN, gets the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine live during a Marion County Commissioner meeting on April 7, 2021 (Screenshot from YouTube)
The Oregon Health Authority has ordered vaccine providers across the state to stop administering the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine while a medical issue is investigated, following a recommendation from two federal agencies.
The announcement won’t significantly impact the number of vaccines providers in Marion and Polk Counties are able to administer, but could hinder efforts to vaccinate farmworkers, homeless people and other groups through mobile vaccination clinics.
On Tuesday U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration recommended that vaccine administrators pause use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine after extremely rare reports of blood clots among six people who received the shot.
The agencies said six women in the U.S. developed a rare and severe blood clot in the days after they received the vaccine, out of 6.8 million Americans who have so far received the J&J shot. They are investigating what role, if any, the vaccine may have played.
To date, 5,087 people in Marion County and 987 people in Polk County have received the J&J vaccine, according to Oregon Health Authority data.
The vast majority of vaccines administered in the Salem area are the Pfizer and Moderna shots, both of which require two doses.
The J&J vaccine requires only one dose and can be stored at refrigerated temperatures, making it easier to administer in remote setting or for people who would be difficult to contact and schedule for a follow-up appointment. Marion County Health and Human Services has used J&J vaccines for people who are homebound or unsheltered, as well as migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
-Rachel Alexander
