Wisconsin, Eau Claire, and Dunn County pause Johnson and Johnson vaccine delivery

Wisconsin 

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is instructing Wisconsin vaccine providers to stop administering the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine due to a federal review of adverse side effects reported. 

“We are pausing administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of an abundance of caution. At this time, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare,” said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. “Vaccine providers should not administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at this time, and should hold on to the vaccine until federal review has been completed.”

Dunn County

The Dunn County Health Department (DCHD) has announced the cancellation of its Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccination clinic scheduled for Thursday April 15 as part of the State and Federally requested pause on use of this vaccine.

CDC and FDA are recommending a pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine after six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in people that received the J&J vaccine. “The CDC identified six cases of a rare blood clot in the brain out of 6.8 million people who have received the J&J shot. This pause shows us that our national system of safety monitoring works,” said KT Gallagher, DCHD director.

The CDC asks people who recently got the J&J vaccine to talk to their doctor if they have any of these symptoms: severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath. People who have received the J&J vaccine over a month ago are at very low risk for adverse reactions. Importantly, there are three COVID-19 vaccines available. These responses are not being seen with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

People with appointments with the other two vaccines should keep their appointment. At this time, the DCHD is not able to provide a Pfizer vaccine to everyone who is currently scheduled for a J&J vaccine Dunn County will work with those scheduled to receive the J&J vaccine on Thursday to reschedule at a different time or with a different vaccine.

The Dunn County Health Department is encouraging those with questions about COVID-19 to look at the information on its website: https://www.co.dunn.wi.us/covidinfo. If you still have questions after reviewing the information provided, feel free to call one of the following numbers.

? Great Rivers: 2-1-1

? Eau Claire COVID Call Center: 715-831-7425

? Dunn County Health Department: 715-232-2388 As always, you can follow the Dunn County data on our COVID-19 portal. https://dunnco.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/5dedef2488…

Eau Claire County

The WI Department of Health Services and Eau Claire City-County Health Department are following this recommendation. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the Health Department, and we take all reports of health problems following any vaccination very seriously.

This pause is being recommended out of an abundance of caution. The CDC and FDA are looking at data from six reported cases (out of 6.8 million doses given in the U.S.) of a rare and severe type of blood clot in people who had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This pause is to help the health care system to recognize and treat patients appropriately.

What if I received Johnson & Johnson vaccine?

• Anyone who has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine within the last three weeks should watch for severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath. Anyone who has these symptoms should call their doctor right away and seek medical treatment. These side effects are extremely rare.
• For people who got the vaccine more than a month ago, the risk to them is very low at this time.

Read more here: https://www.eauclairewi.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=35333