To our young adult patients that received the J&J Covid Vaccine:

First of all, take a deep breath and do not fear.  The likelihood of having a severe complication is extremely low, approximate 1 in a million. As a matter of fact, this is a picture of me receiving the J&J vaccine 4 ½ weeks ago and I am doing quite well and am thrilled that by now I should have very good antibodies against COVID-19.

Why have the FDA and CDC paused the use of the J&J vaccine?

All adverse reactions after vaccines are reported to VAERS. 6 women, ages 18 to 48 years, were reported to have cerebral venous sinus thrombosis after receiving this vaccine. These are blood clots that form in structures called venous sinuses, similar to veins, that drain blood from the brain. All of these events happened between 6 to 13 days after receiving the vaccine. These clots appear to be very similar to the clots reported after the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine licensed in Europe. It appears to involve a response of the patient’s immune system that adversely affects the function of platelets in their blood and by causing a decrease of the number of platelets (thrombocytopenia) due the formation of so-called autoantibodies (antibodies formed against your own platelets).

If you have received this vaccine more than 3 weeks ago, your risk of developing a blood clot is quite low.

If you have received the vaccine in the last 3 weeks AND develop any of these symptoms:

• Severe headache
• Backache
• New neurologic symptoms such as change in vision, fainting, weakness, seizures or symptoms of a stroke
• Severe chest or abdominal pain
• Shortness of breath
• Leg swelling
• Tiny red spots on the skin (petechial) or new or easy bruising
  please seek urgent medical care immediately.  It is important to tell the ED that you have received the J&J vaccine as the treatment for these types of clots is different than the typical treatment of blood clots.

If you have non-urgent questions, please contact our office.