BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – The announcement Tuesday morning that the FDA and the CDC has recommended a pause in the Johnson and Johnson vaccine could not have come at a worse possible time as the State of Michigan continues to be a COVID-19 hot spot.
In a blow to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the FDA and CDC announced that they are “recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.” The move comes amid concerns of possible links between the vaccine and blood clots in some who get the single-dose shot.
CNBC reports the recommendation came after six people in the U.S. developed rare and severe blood clotting issues after they received the J&J vaccine.
The number of local COVID-19 cases has been surging in recent weeks after there was a sharp downturn from late January until early March.
The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency announced on Monday there have been 51 new COVID-19 cases in Branch County between Saturday and Monday. That number includes 34 cases on Monday which was the highest one day total of new cases in Branch County since 24 were reported on April 1.
There have been 174 Branch County cases reported since April 1. The total amount of cases since the pandemic began is now up to 3,829.
Three more COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Branch County this month which brings the death toll of persons who tested positive for the virus up to 90.
There have been 92 virus related deaths reported in St. Joseph County and 82 deaths in Hillsdale County.
Mutated forms of the coronavirus continues to be one of the reasons behind the increase in numbers but USA Today reported last week the United States has administered more vaccine doses since March 1 than it did during the rest of the pandemic.
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