Health department no longer offers Johnson & Johnson vaccine

On Wednesday, Dec. 15, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Janssen/Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine with additional precautions related to a blood clotting disorder, Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), observed in a wide range of recipients. On Thursday, the ACIP met and recommended that "mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are preferred over the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 for all > 18 years of age."

Because of this update, Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department will no longer offer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as a COVID-19 vaccine option.

Anyone with questions should call the SEKMCHD office at (620) 223-4464. Anyone who has received a J&J primary dose and would like a booster, the department will still off the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines as an option. Both of these can be used as a booster for any COVID-19 vaccine primary series that has been given.

KDHE will be transitioning the investigation of all COVID-19 cases from the local level to the state level. The local health department will still investigate other communicable diseases as they occur, but not COVID-19. At the present, the local health department works with schools and long term care facilities on COVID-19 cases as they come, on outbreaks, and on contact tracing. KDHE investigates a majority of the others, but this change will move all COVID-19 cases to the state level. The department will continue to be in contact with the schools and long-term care facilities until this transition is complete.

If someone has tested positive and has questions, they may call the Southeast Kanasas Multi-County Health Department, but otherwise if they would like answers on when they should return to work, school, etc., call the COVID-19 hotline (866) 534-3463.