More than 70 residents of the Upper Lynn Canal have already received the single-dose vaccine with no reports of serious side effects.
Recent immunization numbers have shown that Skagway leads the state and the nation in vaccination rates against Covid-19, and Haines is not far behind. Until recently, the majority of doses administered through the Dahl Memorial and Searhc Clinics have been either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.
Both communities have, however, recently started administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, also known as the Janssen vaccine. With only one dose necessary for significant levels of protection, and less difficult storage challenges compared to the deep freeze storage needs of the Pfizer vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine showed promise in the fight against COVID -19.
But on Tuesday officials from the FDA and CDC, announced that a rare form of blood clots has been observed in just six out of the nearly seven million people that have received the vaccine nationwide. CDC’s Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Shuchat told reporters the pause was out of an abundance of caution. Though there are certain symptoms that she says people should watch for.
“If you’ve received the vaccine and develop severe headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath, you should contact your health care provider and seek medical treatment,” said Shuchat.
According to Meagan Bosak, Regional Marketing Director for Searhc, about 60 people in Haines and Klukwan have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. At Skagway’s Dahl Memorial Clinic Executive Director Este Fielding says 15 people have received it.
“Of the patients in Skagway, who received it from DMC, we’ve already contacted them, or reached out to them in case they need more information and to assess any after-effects that they might have felt,” said Fielding.
As of Tuesday, both Fielding and Bosak say that no one has reported any serious side effects from the vaccine.
“It does not appear so, the folks that we’ve been able to talk to it’s just a generic after-vaccine sort of side effects like flu-like symptoms, tiredness, and then injection site soreness. That seems to be about it so far,” said Fielding.
The state has canceled all appointments for those set to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reports that all six of the cases of blood clots were among adult women under 49 years of age. The severe symptoms occurred from six to 13 days after vaccination.
As of April 12th, there were {web11,178} nearly 12,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses administered in Alaska with no reports of blood clots.
Executive Director Fielding says the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will be meeting on Wednesday to further assess the issue.
“They’re thinking that could just be a matter of days before we have more guidance, so I guess we’ll see and I’ll update Skagway and the general public as we can,” said Fielding.
Maegan Bosak from The Searhc Clinic says there is no need to take special precautions at this time if you’ve already received the vaccine unless the severe symptoms become apparent.