JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Gateway Mall and all affiliated facilities in Jacksonville, such as mobile sites will immediately pause the use of Johnson and Johnson vaccines, according to an email release sent by FEMA spokesperson Kimberly Kipp.
Additional information will be provided as soon as possible, said Kipp, however second doses of Pfizer are still being provided at those sites.
The Gateway site stopped administering J&J around 7:40 a.m. on Tuesday. They’re not yet sure of a long-term plan. We are expecting to get a statement from the state sometime soon.
The state-run Edward Waters College vaccine site will not be offering J&J vaccine until further notice however, Moderna vaccines are still available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, said a representative for Agape Family Health Care.
This comes as the U.S. is recommending a “pause” of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.
Samantha Bequer with Florida Division of Emergency Management says the state is stopping all J&J doses statewide. This includes federally supported sites and mobile vaccine clinics.
At 5 p.m., both the Carver Recreation Center and the Oceanway Community Center will permanently cease operating as vaccination sites for the Jacksonville and Jacksonville Beach communities.
Any Florida resident who has already received their first dose of Pfizer and is due to get their second dose may still get their second dose of the vaccine until 5 p.m.
After 5 p.m.Tuesday, residents will need to go to another facility.
Gateway Mall Community Vaccination Center continues to provide second doses of Pfizer. No appointment needed.
In a joint statement Tuesday, 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 vaccination, reports AP. The clots were observed along with reduced platelet counts — making the usual treatment for blood clots, the blood thinner heparin, potentially “dangerous.”
One week ago, on Tuesday morning just before 7 a.m., the line to get a COVID-19 vaccine at the Gateway site stretched into the parking lot. It was the first day the site saw a line that long.
It also marked the first day the Johnson & Johnson shot was the only option for first doses.
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.