Savannah doctor: Seek help if symptoms develop after Johnson & Johnson shot

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTGS) — Leaders at both the Georgia Dept. of Public Health (DPH) and the South Carolina Dept. of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) are pausing their distributions of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

RELATED: SC pauses J&J vaccine distribution after risk of blood clots reported

"If you are someone that’s had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the last three weeks, and you’re experiencing severe headache, limb swelling, or having concerns about shortness of breath, these are things that you shouldn’t ignore and you should immediately reach out to your primary care provider, and if things are progressing quickly, seek emergent care,” said Dr. Stephen Thacker, associate chief medical officer at Memorial Health in Savannah.

The pause was announced after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating unusual clots in six women that occurred six to 13 days after vaccination.

RELATED: Georgia Dept. of Public Health pauses J&J vaccine distribution

“It’s unclear if (the blood clots are) related to the vaccine or not at this time, but I think the right thing to do from the FDA’s standpoint is to do what they’ve done, which is to have patient safety first and foremost,” said Dr. Thacker.

Last week, Savannah city officials announced they were using Johnson & Johnson shots on homeless people who wanted to be vaccinated at the new clinic at the Savannah Civic Center. Tuesday, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said that’s being put on hold.

“We’ll have to do some follow-up to who was vaccinated and check on them and make sure they’re okay,” said Mayor Johnson.

Leaders at the Coastal Health District said to date, they have given 2,941 Johnson & Johnson vaccines across the district’s eight counties. 548 of those were in Chatham County.

Dr. Thacker said no known cases of blood clots have developed in Georgia after vaccination, but it’s something for doctors to be paying attention to.

“Part of the messaging around this is, one, to make sure that primary providers and other medical providers are aware that this may be a complication that is extremely rare related to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” he said.

RELATED: US recommends 'pause' for single-dose J&J vaccine over clotting reports

If you were scheduled to receive a Johnson & Johnson shot through the Coastal Health District’s clinics, you can still get vaccinated. Chatham County clinics have switched to the Pfizer shot and Liberty County clinics have switched to Moderna.