Had a Johnson & Johnson appointment scheduled in SoCal? Here's what to expect

Many SoCal agencies are working to offer Pfizer or Moderna to people who had been scheduled to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

ByRob Hayes and ABC7.com staff KABC logo

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

SoCal clinics pausing use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Vaccine sites throughout Southern California are following federal guidance and temporarily pausing distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as reports of rare but serious side effects are investigated.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Vaccination sites throughout Southern California are pausing distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for COVID-19 until further notice as federal regulators examine reports of potentially dangerous, but rare, blood clots.

The concerns surrounding the one-dose vaccine were prompted after reports that six women, between the ages of 18 and 48, developed rare forms of blood clots six to 13 days after they received the vaccine. Nearly 7 million people have received that vaccine nationwide.

So if you had a Johnson & Johnson vaccine appointment scheduled, what do you do?

Many vaccine providers are working to honor existing appointments for Johnson & Johnson by offering the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead, though it depends on available supply.

In the meantime, Pfizer has announced it is ramping up production nationwide in response to the Johnson & Johnson concerns.

Here's a look at how agencies around the region are handling the issue:

The city of Los Angeles says about 3,000 vaccinations that were scheduled for Tuesday were affected by the pause in use of Johnson & Johnson. But the city's clinics are planning to honor existing appointments for Johnson & Johnson by offering the Pfizer vaccine. The city this week received almost 60,000 doses of Moderna and 56,000 of Pfizer.

Los Angeles County says vaccine providers will contact individual patients about rescheduling or providing a new appointment for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

The Orange County Health Care Agency says its sites had dispensed about 27,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine between March 8 and April 12. The county's sites will continue to dispense Moderna and Pfizer to individuals with appointments.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration are recommending that the United States pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine.

Ventura County says 13,685 doses of Johnson & Johnson were administered in the county with no serious adverse reactions reported. The county is pausing use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Information about obtaining appointments for the other vaccines is available here.

The city of Long Beach says people who had mobile vaccine clinic appointments for Johnson & Johnson doses will be contacted to be offered Pfizer or Moderna. The vaccination clinic at the Long Beach Convention Center is not affected because it did not have any Johnson & Johnson appointments scheduled.

Kaiser Permanente says it will only cancel existing appointments if no other vaccine is available. "Depending on its duration, we expect this pause to decrease vaccine supply and the number of vaccine appointments we can offer," the provider said. "We will continue to do everything we can to administer as many doses of COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible." Kaiser Permanente is also reaching out to those who already received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to advise them on symptoms they should be aware of.

Riverside County says its clinics have administered 19,424 doses of Johnson & Johnson with no serious side effects reported. The county operates vaccination sites at four permanent locations and eight mobile teams. A new site was set to open at Alessandro High School in Hemet on Tuesday to dispense Johnson & Johnson. Instead, that site will offer Pfizer to the 285 people who had appointments if they wish to switch. Three mobile clinics, in Hemet, Mead Valley and Lakeland Village, that had been scheduled for Tuesday are being canceled. They together had about 400 appointments scheduled.

California officials say less than 4% of the state's total vaccine allocation this week was for Johnson & Johnson. The California Department of Public Health has directed local agencies to pause use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the state is convening a workgroup in conjunction with other Western states to review the issue.

Here's a list of city and county-operated sites across Southern California that offer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration are recommending that the United States pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine.

Health officials say those who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine within the last three weeks should look for any symptoms of the unusual clots, including severe headaches, abdominal or leg pain and shortness of breath. Anyone who is undergoing those symptoms should contact their healthcare provider.

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