As J&J vaccine use is put on hold, here’s how many doses were sent to Whatcom providers
A total of 7,600 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine were distributed to Whatcom County providers before Washington decided to immediately pause its use Tuesday, in keeping with a federal call to do so over concerns about side effects that included a rare blood clot disorder in six recipients.
The total number of J&J doses reported for Whatcom County came through the state Department of Health and the federal retail pharmacy program, according to Melissa Morin, spokesperson for the county health department.
“Six thousand of those doses have been delivered in the past month, which is the time period we’d be most concerned about in terms of adverse reactions. The six cases that have been reported among the over 6.8 million doses administered in the U.S. occurred within two weeks after receiving the vaccine, and all were in women under 50,” Morin said Tuesday, April 13 to The Bellingham Herald.
One of the women died and another is in critical condition, the Miami Herald reported Tuesday.
Exactly how many of the J&J doses sent to Whatcom actually went into people’s arms wasn’t immediately known.
“Unfortunately, we can’t easily grab the data on how many J&J doses have been administered,” Morin said to The Herald.
A total of 106,173 total doses of COVID-19 vaccines — including the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines — have been administered in Whatcom County as of Saturday, April 10, according to state Department of Health data.
In Washington state
About 149,000 doses of the J&J vaccine have been given in the state so far, out of a total of more than 4 million doses, the Washington State Department of Health said in a news release on Tuesday.
About 9 million doses have been shipped out to the states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Use of that vaccine will be put on hold until the federal government provides further guidance, according to the release.
“This action is being taken out of an abundance of caution based on the appearance of a rare but serious side effect including serious brain blood clots (CVST) combined with low platelet counts in six patients, all women under 50,” the release said. “The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will review these cases in the days ahead and will recommend guidance going forward.”
CVST stands for cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.
“At this time, we have no knowledge of the six patients who experienced these blood clots being Washington residents,” the state Department of Health news release said.
The state said those who received the J&J vaccine more than a month ago face very low risk of the complication.
People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.
“It also demonstrates how well the robust vaccine safety monitoring systems work, since this potential safety concern was identified quickly and vaccines were paused to allow for further investigation,” the Department of Health release said.
Whatcom County overview
The Community Vaccination Center in Bellingham is among the places where the J&J vaccine has been given to people, where 1,991 doses were administered on March 13, April 3 and April 10.
The pause in its use won’t affect the clinics at Bellingham Technical College on Saturday and Sunday, April 17 and 18, because Moderna vaccine doses will be given.
The supply of J&J has been very low in Washington state recently, according to the Whatcom County Health Department.
Washington health officials said they expected “minimal disruption” of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine efforts during the J&J pause, the Tacoma News Tribune reported.
Whatcom County providers expect to receive 6,440 doses of vaccines from the state this week, although 400 of them were of the J&J vaccine, according to the Whatcom County Health Department.
“We don’t expect those doses will be shipped at this time,” Morin said. “If the doses are received by vaccine providers in Whatcom, they have been notified by (the Department of Health) to not administer them, to store them pending the CDC/FDA review.”
Other Whatcom County distributions of the J&J vaccine include:
▪ In late March, the National Guard helped distribute 200 doses as part of vaccination efforts at six facilities in Whatcom.
▪ Family Care Network has administered about 540 doses, according to spokesperson Michele Anderson.
It isn’t giving J&J doses for the time being.
“Family Care Network actively reviews information and data that is provided on all vaccines, and will continue to do so. We trust the recommendations of the CDC and FDA to guide our decision-making,” the health care provider said on its website.
