Dr. Karyl Rattay, director for the Delaware Division of Public Health, addressed some of the public’s most frequently asked questions and concerns about the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

What happened with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine?

“CDC and FDA recommended that all states and vaccinating providers in the U.S. temporarily pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while they review data involving six cases of a very rare and severe blood clot in individuals who had received this vaccine. This occurred in six women under the age of 50.

This incident occurred between the first and second week after vaccination, an average of about nine days.

We haven’t seen any of these cases happened in Delaware, but we are keeping an eye on that, but I would say that this is a really good example of FDA and CDC and Delaware’s approach to making sure that we have systems of safety checks in place and that we are transparent about what is being seen.

CDC and FDA are doing everything they can to ensure that the vaccine supply is as safe as it can be as are we and we are really appreciative of the safety checks that are in place with the FDA with CDC and with CDC’s advisory committee.

The CDC advisory committee just met, and they have not made a final recommendation yet they’ve asked to take a deeper dive into the data to have a better understanding, so at this point what we are waiting for their recommendation.”

Should Delawareans be concerned about safety for all of the approved COVID-19 vaccines?

“Vaccines are the best defense we have against infectious diseases and all three of these vaccines have followed the normal testing protocols and the FDA and CDC are looking very closely at any potential adverse reaction from all three of these COVID-19 vaccines that are out there, as well as those who are being looked at for future release and the FDA will only approve these vaccines under these emergency conditions that are shown to be safe and effective.

So they are you know strenuously looking at the at the data and so far we’re really very pleased at the outcomes that we’re seeing with all three of these vaccines.

Keep in mind that the severity of COVID-19 is quite significant, and the vaccine, again, is our best protection from this life-threatening virus so by getting vaccinated you’re giving yourself and others the best chance at preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death and so well, while we appreciate that CDC and FDA are looking into these rare events in six individuals from Johnson and Johnson potentially caused by the vaccine.

We have not seen any of these similar events with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and so, if you have an appointment for Moderna or Pfizer we strongly recommend that you keep that vaccine appointment because again vaccination is so important in preventing serious illness hospitalization and death from COVID-19.”

What is the state doing about the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine?

“The vaccine events or the vaccine that the state of Delaware has that we have in our possession at this point we’re holding on to it, we are not scheduling any vaccine appointments using the Johnson and Johnson vaccine at this point and we are asking all of our partners to do the same, not to use the J&J vaccine until we receive further federal guidance.

Now individuals that have appointments scheduled for a J&J vaccine and who have questions about that upcoming appointment should contact their provider that they’ve booked the appointment with for many folks are getting the option to get a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, instead, and so you know that is certainly what we recommend and encourage and I just want to remind folks that again this is out of an abundance of caution.

And one of the reasons for the pause is to make sure that our healthcare providers are aware that there is a potential linkage between the J&J vaccine and these blood clots, these rare adverse events, so that they’re aware of it , so they’re keeping an eye on this, to identify any of these potential blood clots.

And that they know how to treat it because the treatment for this is a little different than the treatment for normal blood clots, so we are working with our healthcare Community here in Delaware to make sure that they’re aware of how to identify and to treat these rare events, if they were to occur.”

What do I do if I’ve received the J&J vaccine?

“The risk to anyone who was vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson four weeks or more ago is extremely low.

We’ve seen no cases in the US of these rare events for people who’ve been vaccinated for four or more weeks previously.

The events that have been seen were one to three weeks after vaccination and the symptoms that folks would want to look for would include severe headache, severe abdominal pain or leg pain shortness of breath within that timeframe

If somebody experiences those symptoms, they would want to contact their healthcare provider right away and talk to them as to whether or not they should be assessed.

I think it’s really important that people recognize that these severe and rare symptoms are very different than the expected symptoms that we see very commonly after any of these vaccines, which are more like flu like symptoms could include minor headache fever, nausea, soreness or redness at the site where the injection took place and that those symptoms are going to occur, about one to three days after being vaccinated.

Again, those are expected and will go away, but for anyone who is concerned about the J&J vaccine that if they have received it we suggest that they contact their physician for additional information.”