Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Suspension Has Put Some Vaccination Sites In A Bind
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The suspension of the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the state has put some vaccination sites in a bind.
The walk-up vaccination event in Homestead, which was to have featured the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, at the FOP Lodge/Harris Field was canceled Tuesday.
"My aunt told me this morning," says Eva Harvey of Kendall, who was scheduled to get the vaccine Tuesday.
She teaches English in Spain and is on a brief visit home. She's now hoping to get the Pfizer vaccine before she leaves the country Thursday.
"A lot of my friends and family have gotten the Pfizer vaccine. There appears to be less issues," she says.
For those who've already been vaccinated, the news of complications has created some anxiety.
But Elizabeth Guerra, who runs a catering company in Doral, got the J&J shot a few weeks ago and says
she isn't overly concerned about complications.
"I'm in the age group that was affected, but I've had no side effects," she said.
In Pompano Beach, Milo Care has delayed the opening of the COVID-19 vaccination site at the E. Pat Larkins Community Center, which had planned to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, until another vaccine can be lined up.
The City of North Miami said they will pause their Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution. They will now offer 600 Pfizer vaccine doses to residents who had previously scheduled an appointment for the vaccination event happening on Sunday, April 18th, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Griffing Community Center.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration recommended that the United States pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine after six reported US cases of a "rare and severe" type of blood clot.
Governor Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday the state would abide by the federal recommendation and pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Ollie Moreland has been said he's been on the fence about getting a COVID vaccine. She said when she heard about the pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to rare medical complications she was glad she waited.
"It's scary. All of my life I've never seen anything like it, having to wear and mask and go through this situation we're having to go through," she said.
At some vaccination sites, people have shown up for their Johnson & Johnson vaccine appointment only to be told they will have to wait.
Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease expert with Florida International University, said the pause is the right thing to do.
"I think they are making the absolute correct decision, it's the way system is supposed to work, the way science is supposed to work where we pause and evaluate and make a determination as to whether there is a true causal link between an observation and something that may or may not have triggered that particular observation," she said.
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines continue to be administered in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties to those 18 and up. They are available at these locations. Those 16 and 17 up can only get the Pfizer vaccine.