When Will Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Shot Return to Seacoast?

With the CDC lifting it's pause on the single dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine when will it be available for use again on the seacoast?

The CDC and FDA late Friday afternoon allowed immediate use again in the United States of the vaccine called Janssen after a review of six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals. 6.8 million doses were administered nationwide before the pause was put in place on April 13.

"The FDA and CDC have confidence that this vaccine is safe and effective in preventing COVID-19," the two groups said in a statement. "The FDA has determined that the available data show that the vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks in individuals 18 years of age and older. At this time, the available data suggest that the chance of TTS occurring is very low, but the FDA and CDC will remain vigilant in continuing to investigate this risk."

Doses that were already on hand were kept in storage when the pause was put in place can still be used. State health departments in Maine and Massachusetts authorized its continued use; New Hampshire has not issued a statement as of Saturday morning.

When asked about the resumption of the Janssen vaccine during his coronavirus briefing on Thursday New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu called it "an awesome tool" but was not optimistic that additional supply was headed to the state soon before May.

"Over the next few weeks, we should not anticipate a large influx of Johnson & Johnson into the state, even after it has been reapproved. So, that's a bit unfortunate. But hopefully, over time, they can still meet their commitments and provide it by either the end of May, probably not the end of April, but hopefully at least meet some of the commitments through the month of May, Sununu said.

Sununu received the Janssen vaccine on April 10 during a mass clinic at the New Hamsphire Motor Speedway. The governor reported at his briefing of April 15 that besides soreness where the needle went into his arm he did not have any ill effects after his shot.

The CDC website does not show any expected shipments of Janssen to any state for at least another week. The last doses were delivered the week of April 12 when New Hampshire and Maine each received 2,500 and Massachusetts 12,300.

As of Friday 338,972 people have been fully vaccinated in New Hampshire, or 25.1% of the population according to the state COVID-19 dashboard. The U.S. this week surpassed the 200 million dose mark.

There are currently three COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the United States. Besides Johnson & Johnson two dose vaccines are available from Pfizer and Moderna. Pfizer is the only one approved for use by individuals over the age of 16.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH