American Samoa’s plans to use Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen (also referred to as the J3) vaccine for the COVID-19 vaccination effort have been put on hold.
This follows a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after the vaccine was reported to have caused blood clots in a small number of females.
American Samoa received 600 doses of the vaccine earlier this month and the Dept. of Health (DOH) had plans to use them for specific groups such as those who find it difficult to travel for a second shot, like 18-25 year olds, bed-ridden people or those who will be traveling on repatriation flights. Unlike the Pfizer and Modena vaccine, J3 is a one-dose treatment.
According to Dr. Aifili John Tufa, DOH had plans to begin administering the vaccine over a week ago. However, they decided to hold off after the reports of blood clotting began to appear earlier this month.
