Montana’s state health department is recommending that providers in the state resume administering the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Federal health officials Friday lifted the pause on the shot. Health officials say the benefits outweigh the risks of very rare blood clots potentially linked to the vaccine.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been a boon to community health centers working to vaccinate hard-to-reach populations like those experiencing homelessness, those with limited transportation or home-bound populations.
Eric Halverson with the Partnership Health Center in Missoula says, “A one-dose vaccine makes a lot of sense for those populations, but it’s going to be important for us moving forward as well that we make sure folks are aware of the new warning issued by the CDC and FDA, and that they’re also made aware of other options that they might want to have.”
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pumped the brakes on the Johnson & Johnson shot for a little over a week due to a handful of rare blood clot cases in women under 60 years old. Federal health officials say they have identified 15 cases total that the risk is very low. Millions of Johnson & Johnson vaccines have already been administered across the U.S.
