MA Halts J&J Vaccine Following Federal Recommendation

The state has ordered health providers to stop administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a move that comes hours after the federal government recommended a pause after reports of women developing blood clots after the shot.

All of the women were between 18 and 48 years old. One woman died and one is in critical condition.

None of the cases are linked to Massachusetts, a state COVID-19 Command Center spokesperson said.

As of Monday there were more than 6.8 million Johnson & Johnson vaccinations administered in the United States, with 181,034 of them given here in Massachusetts. There have been well over 1.7 million Massachusetts residents fully vaccinated including those who have received two doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

The MA Vaccine Passport Debate: 5 Things To Know

"Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously," the Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks of the FDA said in a joint statement. "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."

The FDA has scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m.

Johnson & Johnson is the newest of the three vaccines in distribution and has been hit by production delays, limiting how much of it has been delivered to states. Gov. Charlie Baker has pointed to the single-shot vaccine as key to accelerating the state's inoculation timeline.