NIU student-only vaccine clinic rescheduled with Moderna for April 20, school officials announce

After a planned two-day clinic was canceled this week due to an elective pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution, Northern Illinois University students will have a chance to instead receive the Moderna vaccine in April.

According to a social media announcement by NIU Chief of Staff Matt Streb, the new clinic will be on April 20 for students to receive a first dose of Moderna vaccine, with the stipulation that their second dose be on May 18, also at the NIU Convocation Center.

Students should check their university email address for registration information.

The DeKalb County Health Department on Tuesday announced that out of an abundance of caution,” health officials were cancelling all scheduled Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine clinics.

“If you had an appointment for Johnson & Johnson, it has been cancelled,” the announcement read. “Please do not call our office to reschedule at this time.”

The update came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration issued a joint statement asking all states to pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as the agencies investigate blood clots in six women that occurred within six to 16 days after vaccination. The clots were observed along with reduced platelet counts — making the usual treatment for blood clots, the blood thinner heparin, potentially “dangerous.”

More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects.