KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Only a few hours after federal health officials ended a pause on administering Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services followed suit.
Use of the single-dose vaccination was halted April 13 to allow for additional investigation of a rare blood-clotting issue.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended ending the pause Friday.
Missouri’s state health department announced late Friday night that vaccinators in the state “will resume use of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine” after the CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighed in.
The MIssouri Department of Health and Senior Services said “it was concluded that the known and potential benefits of the J&J vaccine outweigh its known and potential risks.”
Vaccine providers in the state who were sitting on a stockpile of previously distributed Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines can immediately begin using those doses again.
The federal government is expected to begin allocated doses of the vaccine, which was developed by Johnson & Johnson-owned Jannsen Pharmaceuticals, next week.
Six people, all women and most under the age of 30, developed a very rare but very dangerous blood clot known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis after receiving the Johnson & Johnson shot at the time it was paused.
That number has nearly doubled, but the side effect remains exceedingly rare with more than 8 million doses of the vaccine already distributed in the U.S.
People with low blood platelet counts are the most susceptible to developing the potentially deadly blood clot.
None of the reported cases have been in Missouri or Kansas.
Anyone who receives the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should monitor for severe headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath during the two weeks after receiving it
Kansas has yet to announce whether it will permit the Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s use again and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment didn’t respond to inquiries Friday from 41 Action News.
