Colorado pauses use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine following reports of rare blood clots

DENVER — Following guidance from the CDC and the FDA, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced Tuesday it is asking providers to temporarily stop the use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The CDC and the FDA in a joint statement recommended the pause Tuesday morning following six cases of a “rare and severe type of blood clot” in women who had received the J&J vaccine.

“All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination,” the statement read.

The CDPHE emphasized that these cases are extremely rare. As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the United States. In Colorado, over 120,000 people have received the J&J vaccine, according to the latest data. For comparison, nearly 3.2 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been administered in Colorado.

In a press conference Tuesday, Governor Jared Polis said the pause in the J&J vaccines should increase public confidence about how seriously public health officials are taking the safety of the vaccine.

The governor said the pause should only last days, not weeks, and was confident that the J&J vaccines will continue.

“Nothing I know about Johnson & Johnson would deter me from getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine tomorrow," said Polis, who received his Moderna vaccine in January.

Anyone who received the J&J vaccine more than a month ago is at “very low risk” for these types of serious side effects, CDPHE said. However, if people who received the vaccine in the last three weeks begin to experience headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath, they should see a doctor.

Coloradans who were scheduled to receive the J&J vaccine will instead receive either Pfizer or Moderna, according to CDPHE.

The exception is the state’s mobile vaccination buses. The buses, which were intended to bring vaccines to underserved rural and urban areas, were only stocked with the J&J vaccine. The buses will cease operation through at least April 14.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has an emergency meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 14, to review the blood clot cases and “assess their potential significance."

Gov. Jared Polis is giving an update on COVID-19 in Colorado at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13. We will stream his remarks live on our Facebook page.