J&J Vaccine Can Be Administered Again In Ohio

COLUMBUS, OH — The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been cleared for use in Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine announced.

Ohio is following the federal government's recommendation to begin administering the vaccine again. The Ohio Department of Health also issued guidelines to vaccine providers on what to look for in terms of possible, though extremely rare side effects of the J&J vaccine.

While DeWine lifted the state's pause on the J&J vaccine, the state could not provide information on mass vaccination clinics, mobile clinics or specific sites resuming administration of the vaccine.

The Ohio Department of Health said it will continue to monitor the J&J vaccine.

At the time of the vaccine's pause, officials were investigating six cases of a blood clotting following receipt of the vaccine. At its meeting Friday, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices reported that there had been nine new confirmed cases of the rare blood clots, bringing the total to 15. The 15 cases were reported out of nearly 8 million vaccine doses given as of April 21, the committee reported. All the cases were in women and two of the cases were in women older than 50 while the rest were in women between the ages of 18-48.

The clotting is considered an extremely rare side effect. The chance of developing a clot after getting the J&J vaccine is lower than developing a clot after taking certain birth control, the Washington Post noted.

Health officials in Ohio stopped administering the vaccine April 13 after the recommendation from federal officials. According to Gov. Mike DeWine, 20,300 doses of the vaccine were shipped to the state for the week of April 12.

To date, 4.5 million Ohioans have received at least the first part of a COVID-19 vaccine and 3.4 million have completed the vaccination process.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was the third vaccine approved for emergency use in the U.S. against COVID-19. The vaccine uses an inactivated adenovirus to deliver instructions to cells and mount an immune response against COVID-19. In clinical trials, the vaccine was found to have an efficacy of 66.3 percent and people had the most protection from the shot two weeks after getting vaccinated. According to the CDC, the vaccine had a high efficacy in preventing people from being hospitalized and dying.

The vaccine has an advantage as it requires just a single dose and can be stored at normal temperatures unlike like the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. Because of its advantages, the vaccine is a key part of state efforts to reach rural and other hard to reach populations.