Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause won’t impact NJ's push to open eligibility on Monday, Murphy says

Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause won’t impact NJ’s deadlines, Murphy says

Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday said he does not expect the FDA-recommended pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to impact New Jersey's eligibility deadlines.

TRENTON - New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said Wednesday that the indefinite pause on the Johnson & Johnson one-shot COVID-19 vaccine will not have an impact on the state's plan to open eligibility to all adults on Monday.

"Now, for sure, these six cases each appear to be extremely rare and serious, as there have been 7M doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered nationwide," Murphy said. New Jersey has administered around 244,000 shots and has not seen similar adverse effects, according to Murphy.

The Garden State's longstanding goal of vaccinating 70 percent of all adults by the end of June remains "entirely achievable" despite the pause on Johnson & Johnson's more expeditious coronavirus vaccine. The governor said the Johnson & Johnson shots have accounted for just 4% of the state's 5.6M administered doses.

New Jersey Commissioner of Health Judith Persichilli directed state-run vaccine clinics, including the six megasites, to take the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of inventory until "further federal guidance is provided." The state has told places administering vaccines to come up with alternative plans for those with appointments for the Johnson & Johnson shot.

MORE: CDC investigating death possibly connected to Johnson & Johnson vaccine

The stationary doses of Johnson & Johnson will be held in appropriately monitored storage conditions that will allow them to stay viable after the pause is lifted, Persichilli said.

"I want to repeat that no one who received this vaccine should panic or worry," Murphy said. "This review by the CDC and the FDA is coming out of an abundance of caution. Moreover, this review is critical to our efforts both statewide and nationwide to ensure confidence in our vaccination program and the vaccines themselves."

The death of a woman who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is under investigation by federal health authorities as part of a broader probe into potential "adverse side effects" from the vaccine.

COVID-19 vaccine

Federal health agencies on Tuesday called for a pause on administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to dig deeper into reports from six women between the ages of 18 and 48 who said they fell ill with "a rare and severe type of blood clot" – as described by the CDC – within two weeks of receiving the vaccine. Only one woman has died so far.

New Jersey is still limiting COVID-19 vaccine appointments to people over 55-years-old, healthcare workers, certain frontline employees and educators. Murphy will go forward with the state's plan to open eligibility to all residents 16+ on Monday, although appointments could be scarce at first.

"I think the light is real," Murphy said in an interview with Good Day Philadelphia. "I've said this all along, we get to Memorial Day assuming the vaccine rollout continues as it's been going and we get more supply from the Feds - and that is beginning to happen - and folks continue to do the right thing, I think in a couple of months from now we're in a dramatically different place."