Wake County Public Health is temporarily pausing Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccinations following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

This pause will not slow efforts to #VaccinateWake. Wake County Public Health only had a few J&J clinics confirmed in the community for the coming week. Those clinics will all shift to Moderna doses to ensure appointment holders can keep their slots and get shots to protect them from COVID-19.

Wake County has 7,902 unused J&J doses of J&J and has stored those doses until new guidance is issued.

“Our program was intentionally designed to pivot quickly based on vaccine supply, so this pause will not have a significant impact on our ability to give shots to those with spots on our waiting list,” said Ryan Jury, Wake County’s Mass Vaccination Branch Director. “Today’s announcement is another assurance that vaccine safety is a priority at all levels, and measures are immediately put into place when even a small percentage or rare occurrence is detected.”

For those who have already received a J&J vaccine, the CDC says the risk of dangerous blood clots is “very low.” The CDC advises anyone who has received the J&J shot and experiences symptoms like severe headaches, severe abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks of their vaccination to contact their health care provider.