ADHS Recommends Resuming Use of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

After a thorough safety review and recommendation by federal partners, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is advising providers to resume use of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today expressed confidence that the vaccine is safe and effective in preventing COVID-19.

The two federal agencies had recommended a pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine based on six reported U.S. cases, out of 6.8 million doses administered nationally, of a rare and severe type of blood clot in vaccinated individuals. Today’s determination said available data suggest the chance of this reaction is very low, though the CDC and FDA said they will remain vigilant in continuing to investigate this risk.

“After recommending a pause out of an abundance of caution, we join our federal partners in encouraging everyone to get vaccinated against COVID-19 with the vaccine available to you,” ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ said. “Arizonans can be confident that all COVID-19 vaccines approved for emergency use, including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, have undergone a thorough review for safety and efficacy. The federal review will continue on all of the vaccines as more people are vaccinated.”

So far in Arizona, 226,300 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been allocated, of which approximately 122,000 have been administered. During the pause, ADHS worked with local public health departments and community partners to make appointments available with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

Information provided with the vaccine, which can be found here, will advise patients about extremely low potential for thrombosis-thrombocytopenia syndrome, which involves blood clots and low blood platelet counts. This very rare syndrome was identified primarily in females between the ages of 18 and 49.

Information about all vaccination sites across Arizona can be found at azhealth.gov/findvaccine. At 11 a.m. every Friday, ADHS makes appointments available at state-run sites for the following week. Registration for these and many other sites is available at podvaccine.azdhs.gov or by calling 844-542-8201 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m, seven days a week. Both resources offer assistance in English and Spanish.