Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Delivery Halted Locally, Moderna to Replace

Chelan-Douglas Health District (CDHD) Administrator Luke Davies addressed the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause during a press conference at the Town Toyota Center mass vaccination site Tuesday.

Three providers and several pharmacies in the area had been supplying the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Health officials have told them to stop administering the doses for now. Davies estimated about 1,000 to 1,500 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been delivered to the area.

CDHD will now be distributing Moderna vaccine to those organizations that have been administering Johnson & Johnson.

The CDC and Department of Health will be convening immunization panels within the next few days. Hopefully state officials will know more by the end of the week.

"We want to stress that this potential adverse event is very very rare." Davies said, "It's important for people to be aware of it, but they shouldn't be worried or scared."

Without the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, Davies forecasts the region will average about 9,000 doses administered a week.