HOUSTON — The Houston Health Department says it will resume Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines next week after the CDC lifted the pause Friday. The city's health department says it has 300 doses on hand right now and will use them for in-home vaccinations.
Baylor College of Medicine’s Dr. Peter Hotez says the decision was made because the complications were rare.
“They needed that pause to get their arms around it to see how many more cases they were going to be," Dr. Hotez said.
In all, the CDC confirmed 15 cases of blood clots, all in women. Of those, there were 3 deaths, 7 hospitalized and 5 patients discharged to home.
“Based on the in-depth analysis, there is likely an association, but the risk is very low," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director.
How low? The CDC says 1.9 cases per million people. However, Dr. Hotez says what the CDC couldn’t pin down is other risk factors like if you’re on birth control, post-partum or a smoker. He says that’s why it’s important for everyone to talk to your doctor.
“So that’s how the label will read with the awareness that this could happen and women between the ages of 18 and 48 are somewhat higher risk," he said.
The CDC says it would work to distribute patient handouts regarding it's findings and share more information with doctors on how to treat the rare blood clots.