“Part of the process:” What Johnson & Johnson’s COVID vaccine issues mean for Florida’s supply

GOOGLE READS THIS - SO PLEASE FILL IT OUT — There are two new major concerns that have developed with the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

First, health departments in several states across the country have stopped administering the vaccine after a few people reported serious side effects from the shot.

READ: Seminole County officials concentrating vaccination efforts on younger reside

Secondly, as a result of those issues, Florida won’t be receiving as many doses as planned in the coming weeks, experts say.

400,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have already been administered in Florida.

It’s been called a “game-changer” in the race against the spread of the virus.

University of Miami Internal Medicine Chief Dr. Olveen Carasquillo says all three vaccines are “great.”

“When one of my patients calls me, I say get whichever one of the three,” Dr. Carasquillo says.

UM’s medical school was a 20,000-person test site for the Johnson & Johnson shot.

READ: Some sites halt using Johnson & Johnson vaccine after reports of blood clots, fainting

Dr. Carasquillo says the data they gathered was actually quite promising.

“It was a lot of the typical side effects that we see with the other vaccines,” Dr. Carasquillo says. “We’re very encouraged by the data. It was actually very positive and seemed maybe to be slightly less than the other vaccines.”

Despite that outlook, European Union regulators are investigating four incidents of blood clots in Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients.

Meanwhile, vaccination sites in Georgia, North Carolina, and Colorado have temporarily shut down after a few dozen people in each state experienced dizziness, fainting, and nausea from it.

Public health statistician Eric Solomon says these issues should be expected, along with non-life-threatening side effects.

“People that have doubts don’t want to see any kind of glitch,” Solomon says. “But it’s just part of the process, we’re rolling out something that’s very new.”

READ: Florida woman who coughed on cancer patient sentenced to 30 days in jail

Florida received 129,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine two weeks ago, and another 313,000 this week.

However, next week, Florida will only get 37,000 doses of the vaccine, indicating just how much of an impact the company’s manufacturing issues could be on Florida’s vaccination rate.

Cox Media Group