COLUMBUS, Ohio — As nationwide COVID-19 vaccinations hit a speed bump Tuesday after the FDA and CDC recommended pausing use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine addressed the situation during a 3 p.m. press conference.
The briefing came after Gov. DeWine quickly followed the recommendation of halting use of the one-dose shot by advising all vaccine providers statewide to "temporarily pause" giving J&J vaccinations.
According to DeWine, a majority of Ohio's Johnson and Johnson doses were directed to mass vaccination clinics and to 63 public and private 4-year colleges and universities, most of which have already completed their student vaccinations.
Since Gov. DeWine's suggestion, several locations throughout Northeast Ohio announced they were ceasing their Johnson & Johnson vaccinations, including clinics at Kent State University and the University of Akron.
Other locations, including the Summit County Public Health's site at the Summit County Fairgrounds, will be shifting from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to Pfizer or Moderna.
As far as potentially adjusting the Wolstein Center's mass vaccination site, DeWine stated that no decision has been made at this point. The Wolstein Center is currently in the second week of providing second doses of Pfizer vaccinations. After another week of Pfizer, the Wolstein site is scheduled to provide the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine for the final two weeks it is open.
"We'll look at everything as we do every single week. Nothing is off the table," DeWine added.
Approximately 6.8 million people have received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in the U.S. 264,311 of those vaccinations were administered in Ohio.
Others participating in Gov. DeWine's press briefing included:
- Lt. Gov. Jon Husted
- Andrew Thomas, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
- Mysheika Robers, M.D., MPH, City of Columbus Health Commissioner
- Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D., Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer
You can watch the entire briefing in the player below:
The FDA and CDC issued a joint statement earlier Tuesday to address their pause recommendation because of rare blood clots, which happened in six women within six to 13 days after vaccination. The issue was also discussed at length during a joint press conference, which you can explore in the player below:
"Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare," the FDA said. "This is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot."