Alaska providers receive green light to resume use of single-dose COVID-19 vaccine after federal guidance

Apr. 24—Following updated federal guidance, state health officials said Friday that Alaska vaccine providers can now resume use of a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson.

Distribution of the vaccine was temporarily paused in Alaska and nationwide earlier this month in response to cases of a very rare but serious blood clotting disorder that had been identified in multiple women who received the vaccine.

A panel of doctors and scientists who act as advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Friday in favor of lifting the pause, and again recommended its use in all adults 18 and older.

The panel also voted to add a warning label for women younger than 50 years old about the possibility of the rare blood clotting disorder, which a CDC scientist said Friday had been identified in 15 women who received the vaccine. Three women have died, and seven remain hospitalized.

The Food and Drug Administration accepted the panel's recommendation Friday afternoon by officially ending the recommended pause. That decision gave Alaska health officials the go-ahead to lift the pause in-state.

The federal decision to resume use of the vaccine was based on an assessment that the benefits of the single-dose shot outweighed the potential risks. The danger of developing the clotting disorder remained extremely rare: Just 15 cases have been identified so far out of the 8 million doses administered nationwide.

"This process illustrates that the vaccine safety systems are working," a spokesperson with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services said in a statement sent Friday.

Over 11,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine have been administered in Alaska so far. None of the 15 reports of blood clots were in Alaskans who had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the statement said.

The risk of developing the disorder appeared to be greatest for younger women: Thirteen out of the 15 women who developed the clotting disorder were between 18 and 49 years old, a CDC scientist said during the Friday panel meeting.

But even for women with the most risk — those between 30 and 39 years old — the risk was still relatively low, at 11.8 cases per million doses given.

The updated fact sheet for the vaccine that describes the slightly increased risk of blood clotting for women under 50 would be provided to health care providers and the general public, the state health department said in its statement.

The initial symptoms of the disorder have included: headaches that begin about a week after vaccination, which can develop to more severe headaches; nausea; stomach pain; weakness on one side of the body or in the legs; speech difficulties; loss of consciousness; and seizures.

Anyone with any of those symptoms up to three weeks after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should see their medical provider.