STATE WIDE–If you’ve got a COVID-19 shot planned and it’s the Johnson and Johnson, one-shot vaccine, it is on pause for now. But, the Moderna vaccine will be used instead.
The Indiana Department of Health said Tuesday morning that it was pausing all use of the shot.
HIGHLIGHTS:
The Moderna vaccine is being used for now at the IMS vaccination clinic. They’ll use it as long as the supply holds up.
The Dept. of Health is helping other clinics and vaccination sites using Johnson and Johnson decide what to do.
They still want everybody to get vaccinated with whatever is available.
There are no cases of the sickness reported with Johnson and Johnson in Indiana that are known right now.
The department said in a news release they had received no notification from the CDC or federal government was received, but they were pausing out of an abundance of caution after the CDC said it was recommending a pause over reports that some people had developed blood clotting problems.
Only six people across the country were reported sick with the trouble.
The health department will be sending the two-dose Moderna vaccine to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is conducting mass vaccination clinics today, so that Hoosiers can continue to get vaccinated without interruption.
You will need a second shot, and the date and location is still being worked out.
“We are asking everybody as they arrive, letting them know that we have the Moderna vaccine here today, asking them if they want to go ahead and get vaccinated, and I’m happy to announce that so far about 95 percent of the people that have come up are going ahead and getting vaccinated,” said Dr. Lindsay Weaver, chief medical officer with the department, at a Tuesday morning press conference outside IMS.
The department is also working with other clinics that were scheduled to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the immediate future.
“I think we’re going to have to see how long this pause lasts, whether they will come out with a recommendation that this is something we have to monitor for or whether it’s actually going to be paused for a long time,” said Weaver, adding that they can continue the mass vaccinations for now at IMS with Moderna or Pfizer shots that had been planned for use at future events.
“We really need people to get vaccinated, which ever vaccine that they have available to them,” she said. “We are seeing an increase in our cases. We’re watching for an increase in hospitalizations. We know that the variants are here in Indiana and across or entire country.”
