DENVER — Following guidance from the CDC and the FDA, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced Tuesday it is asking providers to temporarily stop the use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
The CDC and the FDA in a joint statement recommended the pause Tuesday morning following six cases of a “rare and severe type of blood clot” in women who had received the J&J vaccine.
“All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination,” the statement read.
The CDPHE emphasized that these cases are extremely rare. As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the United States. In Colorado, over 120,000 people have received the J&J vaccine, according to the latest data. For comparison, nearly 3.2 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been administered in Colorado.
In an interview with Rocky Mountain PBS, Dr. Michelle Barron with UCHealth emphasized that COVID-19 is much larger threat than side effects from the approved vaccines.
“The key thing is just the vaccines we have available... are very good, very efficacious, considered very safe," she said. "And your risk of getting COVID still far outweighs any risk of getting any potential side effects or complications.”
