Health & Fitness

Death After J&J Vaccination May Have Been Virginia Woman: State

A woman who died in mid-March shortly after her Johnson & Johnson vaccination may have been a Virginia resident, according to reports.

State health officials said a national system tracking adverse events from vaccines indicates a fatal case of a rare blood clot happened in Virginia.
State health officials said a national system tracking adverse events from vaccines indicates a fatal case of a rare blood clot happened in Virginia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

VIRGINIA — A woman who died in mid-March shortly after getting a Johnson & Johnson vaccination may have resided in Virginia, according to reports.

State public health officials said the national surveillance system tracking adverse events from vaccines indicates a fatal case of a rare blood clot happened in Virginia.

“One of the cases does appear to match,” Dr. Danny Avula, state vaccination coordinator, said Tuesday afternoon in a news briefing. “We just have not heard confirmation that particular Virginia woman is who they’re referencing.”

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Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine use has been temporarily paused as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention review data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in people after receiving the vaccine. All six cases are women between the ages of 18 and 48.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is to meet Wednesday to further review the blood clot cases and assess their potential significance. The FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates.

Find out what's happening in Arlingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On Tuesday, Avula discussed how the pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccination would affect Virginia’s progress in getting its population vaccinated. He said one person died after experiencing something similar to a stroke.


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In response to a question about reports of a woman in Virginia being the one who died due to issues from the J&J vaccine, Avula said the Virginia Department of Health is waiting on the CDC to confirm the information, WRIC reported Tuesday afternoon.

“We need to clearly state that this is specific to Johnson & Johnson,” Avula said. “We have not seen this pattern with Moderna and Pfizer. They work on a different platform. J&J uses a shell of another common cold virus, so some of what we have seen globally is because of similar patterns.”

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Tuesday afternoon that a 45-year-old woman in Virginia died within two weeks of receiving a Johnson & Johnson vaccine on March 6. Avula said there is a possibility the death is unrelated or an additional case not yet identified by the CDC.

About 184,000 of the one-shot doses have been administered in Virginia since the state received its first shipment in late February.

RELATED: Johnson & Johnson Coronavirus Vaccine Use Paused In Virginia


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