December 21, 2024
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Will County to follow recommendation to pause use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Health Department says 99.5% of all vaccines it’s distributed have been from Pfizer or Moderna, so residents’ appointments won’t be affected

By Alex Ortiz
Pharmacy Manager Nicole Costa prepares the first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to be administered on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, at AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Ill. Health care workers from AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center received the first round of vaccinations in Will County.

Pharmacy Manager Nicole Costa prepares the first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to be administered on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, at AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Ill. Health care workers from AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center received the first round of vaccinations in Will County.

The Will County Health Department said Tuesday it would follow the recommendation from federal and state health agencies to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for COVID-19.

The announcement came after the Illinois Department of Public Health said it would pause the use of the J&J vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating clots in six women that occurred in the days after they were vaccinated.

Like much of the rest of the state, nearly all of the shots administered in Will County, about 99.5% out of over 350,000, have been either from Pfizer or Moderna, according to a county health department news release. Steve Brandy, a spokesman for the Will County Health Department, said that because so few J&J vaccines have been used, this pause will not affect appointments made by residents to get vaccinated in the coming weeks.

“All of the Will County Health Department’s public vaccine clinics have and will continue to use Pfizer and Moderna vaccines,” Will County Health Department Executive Director Sue Olenek said in the release. “The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was used on a limited basis over the past two months, and not distributed at our public clinics.”

To date, the county health department said it has not received any news of recipients having adverse side effects from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Will County. Olenek added that if any person does have concerns about the J&J shot, they should contact their primary care provider.

The health department said it would reach out to the few individuals who have received the J&J vaccine to inform them of the CDC’s recommendation.

As of Tuesday, over 134,000 people have been fully vaccinated in Will County, or about 19% of the total population, according to the IDPH.

All Will County residents age 16 and over can book an appointment directly via the link at willcountyhealth.com. Anyone who cannot book an appointment online can also call 815-774-7386.

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