The Virginia State Vaccination Coordinator Dr. Danny Avula released a statement Tuesday on the pause of administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after the FDA and the CDC recommended the pause in the use of the vaccine.
Federal officials said this pause is "out of an abundance of caution."
Dr. Danny Avula said they "are closely monitoring the actions by the federal government to pause all Johnson & Johnson vaccinations while it investigates an extremely rare possible side effect."
He added that Virginia will cease all Johnson & Johnson vaccines until the federal investigation is complete. If you have an upcoming appointment for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you will be contacted to reschedule that appointment.
Dr. Avula said, "This pause is reassuring in that it demonstrates that the systems that are in place to monitor vaccine safety are working. We look forward to a thorough review by federal health officials. Meantime, we will continue Virginia’s vaccine rollout at this time with the other two authorized vaccines, developed by Pfizer and Moderna."
In a series of tweets Tuesday morning, the FDA said it was recommending a pause after receiving reports that six people developed "rare and severe" blood clots after receiving the vaccine.
North Carolina announced a pause on the vaccines Tuesday as well.
Following new guidance from the federal government, Virginia will temporarily pause all use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine until the @CDCgov and @US_FDA investigation is complete.
— Governor Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) April 13, 2021
Read the full statement from @VDHgov: https://t.co/GJryUwyQjT