BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — The Center for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration have recommended a pause on the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in the United States after six out of more than 6 million people suffered severe side effects and blood clotting.
“You don’t have to be obese to have blood clots. There’s all different kinds of clotting disorders that people have and it can be caused from any number of things.”
Dr. Clendenin said COVID-19 triggers a massive inflammatory response in your body. This can damage certain organ systems and cause dangerous levels of inflammation.
“We’re learning that the virus replicates in the heart muscles and causes a little bit of inflammation there that can then lead to permanent heart damage.” Clendenin said. “People who are obese typically are suffering from a number of inflammatory issues and so that can lead to an exacerbation of COVID-19 and severity because they’re already suffering from inflammatory response."
While researchers continue to study these drastic effects by some vaccine distributors, Texas A&M School of Public Health wants to remind folks these cases are rare and everyone should still get vaccinated.
“There are 6.6 million people who have already been vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson, who had no side effects or no severe side effects,” Clendenin said, adding there are still questions why the vaccine affected the six women involved.
Overall, there is still so much to learn about COVID-19, especially in the long run.
“We’ve been dealing with this virus for a year, but we’re still learning so much about it because we don’t know what the long-term effects are until people have had it long term,” she said. “We don’t know how it affects certain organ systems until it does because it’s still so new.”
Dr. Clendenin said researchers will continue to monitor side effects of vaccines to see if certain reactions are widespread. If they are, there will need to be adjustments and alterations to keep everyone safe from them.
If you have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and are experiencing severe headaches, leg pain, abdominal pain or shortness of breath, the FDA suggests your health care provider.