Georgia will resume administering the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The decision comes after government advisory board gave the green light to resume the vaccine after investigating the risk of blood clots.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that the United States should resume Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccinations. Pending the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s formal acceptance of the decision, the Georgia Department of Public Health will again offer the vaccine to Georgians aged 18 and older. However, there is no timeline yet for when administration will begin again.

The advisory committee advised that a warning should be added to the vaccine about the potential for very rare, but severe blood clots associated with the vaccine. In particular, women under the age of 50 should be made of aware of the increased risk of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia syndrome and may choose to receive another vaccine.

The FDA and CDC previously recommended pausing Johnson & Johnson vaccinations pending a review of data involving six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot occurring in women aged 18-48 about a week after vaccination. Since then, nine additional confirmed cases of these rare blood clots were reported, and other potential cases are still under review.

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At the time vaccine administration was paused, more than 124,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been safely administered in Georgia. According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, about 213,000 doses are in inventory statewide.

For information about COVID vaccines or to schedule a vaccination appointment visit dph.ga.gov/covid-vaccine.

For updates on COVID-19, follow @GaDPH and @GovKemp on Twitter and @GaDPH and @GovKemp on Facebook.

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