Statement on the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Pause

Published on April 13, 2021

Update (April 13, 7 p.m.): Arlington County has sent notification emails to everyone with appointments through Sunday, April 18, at the Lubber Run Community Center (where Johnson & Johnson was being administered), informing them their appointments will be honored with either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. The originally scheduled date, time and location of the appointment remains the same. Anyone who does not want Pfizer or Moderna may cancel their appointment through Eventbrite.

• Arlington was fortunate that we had an advance allocation of Moderna and Pfizer doses from the state that had not yet been scheduled.
• Second dose appointments are not affected at this time.
• Availability of appointments for the week of April 19 will depend on whether the County receives additional doses of other vaccines or learns more about the status of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Following the Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recommendations, out of an abundance of caution, Arlington County has paused Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccinations at the County's public health clinics.

The CDC and FDA announced on Tuesday the review of data involving six reported cases of a rare and severe blood clot in individuals after they received the J&J vaccine. Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. As of April 12, nearly 7 million doses of J&J have been administered in the United States.

Individuals who have appointments Tuesday, April 13, at the Lubber Run Community Center, where Johnson and Johnson was being administered, will be offered the Moderna vaccine. The County will continue to hold clinics to the extent it receives available doses of Pfizer and Moderna over the next few days. Appointments may need to be rescheduled depending on whether the County receives additional doses of other vaccines or learns more about the status of the J& J vaccine.

More: Statement from Virginia State Vaccination Coordinator Dr. Danny Avula On Pause in Administration of Johnson and Johnson Vaccine

Stay up to date on the latest vaccine information at the Arlington County vaccine website and by subscribing to our COVID-19 newsletter.