UT Health San Antonio suspends administration of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

As of April 13, 2021, UT Health San Antonio will suspend its administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. This is per CDC and FDA recommendations while they investigate recent reports of rare, but potentially dangerous, blood clots that may have been related to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in certain specific patient populations.

Among 6.8 million doses given, these rare reports have been in six women (out of more than 6.8 million doses) between the ages of 18 to 48 years old, and occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination.  This type of clotting problem has a specific therapy for those in whom it can be identified early. None of the cases of blood clots reported at this time have occurred in Texas, where more than 500,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered.

For those who recently received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine:

A very rare blood clotting problem (less than one in a million) may occur within the first three weeks after vaccination. The good news is, we already have potential treatments for this type of problem.

What should you do?:

If you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine less than three weeks ago, watch for easy bruising, gum bleeding, nose bleeds, swelling in your arms or legs or tiny blood spots under the skin in areas away from the injection site. If you have one of those symptoms, see a doctor. Shortness of breath, chest pain, persistent severe abdominal pain, blurred vision or very severe and persistent headache may be a sign of a more serious vaccine reaction. Should you have any of these symptoms, go to the closest emergency department.