UPMC clinic at Pittsburgh Mills will continue with different vaccine

Hospital systems in Western Pennsylvania are pausing distribution of the Johnson & Johnson covid vaccine, following recommendations from federal regulators.

Both UPMC and Allegheny Health Network last week announced plans for mass vaccine clinics to administer a combined 25,000 shots. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended a pause in Johnson & Johnson use, following a small cluster of reported cases of blood clots that occurred among six women in the days following their vaccination.

The clots were observed along with reduced platelet counts — making the usual treatment for blood clots, the blood thinner heparin, potentially dangerous.

To date, more than 6.8 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the United States – most with no severe side effects. Regulators are conducting an investigation into the cause of the clots and low platelets.

About 12,000 people were expected to receive the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine at UPMC’s two-day clinic at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer on Wednesday and Thursday. The hospital system said in a statement that the clinic would not be canceled — a different vaccine will be given instead.

“This week’s drive-up clinic at Pittsburgh Mills … will proceed using a supply of the Pfizer vaccine for community members with appointments,” UPMC said. “We are currently notifying those with scheduled appointments of the change.”

This means those who originally signed up for the single-dose clinic will need to receive second doses.

Mark Sevco, president of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, said the 12,000 Johnson & Johnson doses originally set aside for the clinic will not go to waste. (The doses had been allocated to the Allegheny County Health Department and shared with UPMC for the mass vaccination event).

“We’re going to obviously hold them until we get further notice from the CDC, FDA and the Pennsylvania Department of Health,” Sevco said. “So, we’re not going to be tossing those out. They are easy to store and it’s a single dose vaccine. But we certainly will be in alignment with safety first and with the guidelines that come out after the investigation.”

Allegheny Health Network’s Johnson & Johnson clinic had occurred over the weekend and administered 13,000 doses. In a statement, the network confirmed it will pause distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, while continuing to provide the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

“AHN has received no reports of this rare blood clotting condition to date from individuals following vaccination with the J&J vaccine,” AHN’s statement said. “However, people who have received this vaccine type and develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.”

Tom Chakurda, a spokesman at Excela Health, said the Westmoreland County-based system has never had access or administered Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Vaccine appointments at Excela, therefore, will be unaffected by the guidance from federal regulators.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said all providers in the state have been instructed to pause use of the single-dose vaccine until at least April 20.

“While this announcement is challenging, it highlights the vaccine evaluation process,” Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said in a statement. “The CDC and the FDA are closely monitoring vaccines for safety and effectiveness, and if there is a cause for concern, they will take action because safety is paramount.”

The pause in Johnson & Johnson distribution comes the same day Pennsylvania officially opened vaccine eligibility to all adult residents — a full week sooner than planned. The move was meant to create more demand as vaccine supply increased, officials said. It was not immediately clear if temporarily halting use of Johnson & Johnson would affect that supply.