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SC stops giving Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after US hits pause. What we know

South Carolina’s health department said the state will not continue administering the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine until it is cleared by the federal oversight agencies who on Tuesday hit pause on the company’s vaccine.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration strongly recommended that disbursement of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine stop “out of an abundance of caution” after six women developed blood clots, the food and drug agency said.

The blood clots, the agencies said, were all documented among women ages 18 to 48, and the women developed symptoms six to 13 days after they each had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“These adverse events appear to be extremely rare,” the agencies said. ”COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.

Dr. Edward Simmer, South Carolina’s health director, told reporters on Tuesday outside a federal COVID-19 vaccine site that he did not think a pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would have an impact on the state’s vaccine availability.

While some clinics had to cancel vaccine disbursement as a result of the news, Simmer told reporters that about 95% or more of the state’s vaccination sites are not giving out Johnson & Johnson vaccines and therefore there should be no significant impact.

This story will be updated.