San Rafael, CA – The following is a statement from Marin County Public Health regarding the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson.
Marin County Public Health has paused local use of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine at the request of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) following a report of six cases of a rare type of blood clot in individuals who received the J&J COVID-19 vaccine. We will safely store all available J&J supply until FDA and CDC conclude their investigation of the product.
In Marin County, J&J COVID-19 vaccine doses account for less than 3% of our cumulative vaccine allocation. The temporary halt will mainly impact our mobile operations, where J&J’s one dose increased vaccination capacity. Starting today, mobile teams will resume using Pfizer and Moderna to continue our efforts to vaccinate harder to reach groups.
We have experienced a “pause” once before, when on January 17, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued an advisory to pause administration of a specific lot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine after some adverse reactions were observed at a vaccine site in Southern California. In that event, all Marin County vaccine providers held unused Moderna doses until they were given the “all clear” to safely resume use from CDPH about one week later.
We are encouraged to see that the vaccine monitoring and surveillance systems are functioning as intended to ensure the safety of all vaccine recipients across the U.S. While CDC and FDA investigate these cases carefully, we encourage everyone who is eligible to continue pursuing either a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine remains a safe and powerful tool in our COVID-19 pandemic-ending toolkit, along with wearing a mask, watching your distance and washing your hands frequently.
Learn more on Public Health's answers to frequently asked questions about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.