Following CDC, Utah recommends Johnson & Johnson pause

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah is recommending that providers pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, following the lead of federal officials who are investigating reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating unusual clots that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48; there was one death.

The executive director of the Utah Department of Health, Rich Saunders, said a pause is the right thing to do even though it will slow vaccination efforts.

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“It’s critical the public be confident in the COVID-19 vaccines, and in order to build and maintain that confidence reports like these must be taken seriously and fully investigated to determine what role, if any, the vaccine played,” he said.

The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines will continue to be used in Utah. More than 1.8 million doses of those vaccines have been administered and account for the majority of shots given in the state, the department said.