Coronavirus update: NY, NJ, CT resume Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine after pause lifted
Coronavirus Update
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Johnson & Johnson got the green light from federal officials to resume administering their vaccine just over a week after it was paused.
The CDC determined the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.
An updated fact sheet from the CDC details the warning for extremely rare blood clots.
States are now planning how and when they will roll the doses back out.
On Saturday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced New York will resume administration of Johnson & Johnson vaccine at all of the state-run sites effective immediately.
"The vaccine is the weapon that will win the war against COVID and allow everyone to resume normalcy, and we have three proven vaccines at our disposal," Cuomo said. "I urge every New Yorker to take whichever one is available to them first. The sooner we all get vaccinated, the sooner we can put the long COVID nightmare behind us once and for all."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says the one-shot vaccine will immediately resume at mobile pop-up sites and homebound vaccination programs.
"I received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine along with our Health Commissioner Dr. Chokshi," de Blasio said. "We know firsthand that the vaccine is safe and effective, and now it's easier than ever to get your shot. I encourage all New Yorkers to join the millions of your friends, family and neighbors who've been vaccinated. You can lead our city's comeback."
Connecticut health officials gave the thumbs up to resume administering the J&J vaccine.
"With the announcement from the CDC and the FDA, we have advised our vaccine providers to start offering the J&J vaccine again," the statement read. "As the CDC and FDA noted, their enhanced review of this very rare blood clotting event found a total of 15 cases, all in women under the age of 60, out of more than 6.8 million doses of J&J administered. This pause and review will hopefully give people confidence that we take the safety of these vaccines very seriously and are committed to ensuring that that they meet the highest safety and effectiveness standards."
In New Jersey, officials alerted its providers in planning to restart the shots.
Health officials put a pause on the vaccine after six women developed severe blood clots two weeks after getting the shot.
The CDC says there are no 15 of these cases - most of them with severe blood clots near the brain. All of them are women between 18-59 years old.
Three of those women have died as a result and seven are still hospitalized, but health officials underline that these are out of 8 million vaccinated without any serious complications.
Meanwhile, fewer Americans are getting their COVID-19 vaccine. The daily shots are now below three million per day for the first time in weeks.
The country's seven-day average of daily cases is now 62,500 -- roughly 10% lower than last week. At least seven states have seen increase in new cases over 10%.
The CDC anticipates there will be additional clotting issues, but they say better awareness of the symptoms - sever leg or head pain - could mean quicker treatment, minimizing the effects.
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